


searching for a trail to follow

by EllenRipley



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-03-13 21:48:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 74,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13579581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllenRipley/pseuds/EllenRipley
Summary: Bonnie is barely keeping it together after surviving the 1994 prison world.





	1. fall with broken wings

Bonnie had assumed that being back home, surrounded by the familiar would be enough to bring her back to herself. Instead, she realized that just coming back was the first step. The remaining steps back to normalcy were illusive. Spending time with her friends, spending time alone, spending time trying to figure out what her future should look like were all enough to make her scream. None of it felt real even though she pinched herself regularly, a reminder that she had escaped from Kai’s prison world and was back among the living.

When she was alone, she could feel panic settling in. It was ten times worse now than it had been after Kai had finished torturing her and left her to die in his prison. Then, she knew that she was alone and no one was coming to save her. There was no Damon, no Elena, no Caroline, no Matt, no Jeremy. No one was ever going to rescue her from her damsel in distress routine unless she did the rescuing. So she had, looking to the next hour, minute, second that would set her free from 1994. Now that she was truly free – and she made sure to check every morning with a hard pinch to her arm lest she be dreaming of freedom – there was no one to rescue, least of all herself. She was supposed to be settling back into normal routine. She was going to go to college and get drunk with her friends and have a grand old time the way most kids who had survived high school were supposed to.

  
The problem was that Bonnie knew what the darkness carried. She was friends with some of the very creatures that featured prominently in people’s nightmares. She had died and come back; she had watched her friends die and come back. She had watched her best friends suffer and been tortured by a psychotic siphon who hadn’t cared that it hurt, that she was dying by his very hands. She knew what lived in the darkness and had survived the horrors of those creatures. But every shadow seemed peppered with the next round of nightmare inducing Russian roulette.

When she was busy hiding from the reality that she was far from okay, she went out with her friends. Within minutes, her skin would begin to crawl and itch. The phantom bugs – they weren’t really there – would pester her as they spent time together. She watched as Caroline and Stefan made goo-goo eyes at each other while Caroline ignored the reality that her mother was dying. She watched as Elena and Damon did their constant back and forth dance, ignoring the larger implications of their romantic entanglement. While she was screaming on the inside, she laughed at their jokes and listened to them whine about one another.

It was enough to make her sick.

When she had enough of being with her friends, she went home and hid behind comfortable blankets and thick sweaters and focused on only the very next second to keep her memories at bay. She had stopped waking up screaming from her nightmares, but the nightmares were still there. She couldn’t figure out why she couldn’t shake it. She had been through so much already; what was a little torture really?

The only one who didn’t set her off was Enzo, of all people. She couldn’t stand him. He was a far more selfish version of Damon. In fact, he was more like Damon when he had first come to Mystic Falls when Stefan was still pursuing Elena. He had a neat accent and his haircut was atrocious and he didn’t seem to give a tin shit about what anyone thought of him at all. He drank too much and had an odd sense of humor.

But somehow, when it was just the two of them in a room, her skin didn’t itch as much and the weight on her chest wasn’t so heavy. He didn’t have to say anything in that nifty little accent, just be. It wasn’t enough to chase the terrors from her dreams, but at least it was enough to keep her from needing to rip her skin off for a little while. Sometimes he would give her a look that said he got it, he just understood, and he probably did. He had been tortured by the Augustine Society for longer than Damon.

She couldn’t voice any of this out loud though. She wanted to talk to her Grams or to Elena or to Caroline and whenever she went to open her mouth to say how much she hated everything and was scared just as much, her voice locked up and all she could do was scream inside her head.

Bonnie had watched and listened as Damon recounted what it was like after she had sent him home. He had drank a lot and had focused on whatever goal he had – getting her free – and somehow, he seemed better than ever. He had managed to fall back into the patterns that he was used to and worked on getting Elena to remember their love. Bonnie thought that maybe the focus on these projects was enough to bring him back to normal.

She threw herself into projects too, trying to emulate what she thought had helped the vampire. But getting into Whitmore and teaching herself how to play guitar (horribly) and practicing her magic were all minor things. They weren’t real, long-term, time-soaking goals. There was always the knowledge that she would succeed at whatever new magic spell she was trying or the fact that no matter how hard she tried, she would never, ever manage to get even remotely decent at the guitar. She could feel the panic banging beneath her ribs every other second and it was just enough to make her feel like she was going crazy.

When Caroline turned off her humanity, Bonnie found what she hoped was the thing she had needed to focus on. Her best friend needed her. Just like when Damon needed her in the prison world and she, in turn, had needed him. Just like when Elena needed her and all of her other friends. But this time was different because Care didn’t think she needed anyone or anything. And no matter how often she begged her best friend to come back to her, Caroline refused.

Bonnie decided drastic measures were the only way to bring her best friend back to her. And she would do whatever it took – unlike everyone else – to bring Caroline back from wherever she was hiding deep inside. And maybe, as a side effect, she could find a way back too.


	2. words can come out as a pistol

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie and Enzo take a road trip.

Lorenzo pulled the SUV to the side of the road and looked over at Bonnie’s determined expression. When she had come to him with her plan to help Caroline, he had assumed she had finally gone off the deep end. He had actually been expecting it, unlike everyone else who knew this dark eyed beauty before her stint in the prison world. She hadn’t told anyone what had happened after she had sent Damon back to the land of the living, but he could see the ghosts in her eyes. They shrieked and screamed, just like she did in the middle of the night, just like he had once done in the middle of the night.

The fact that Bonnie had held on to her sanity was no mean feat. He, himself, had willingly given himself over to insanity the moment the prospect had outweighed the dying hope in his chest. But she had very clearly done what she could to retain her very soul and that was something that he could respect. It was because of that respect mostly that he had decided to go along with what she was asking.

And that way, too, he could keep an eye on her. He had been, of course, since she had gotten back. Her friends were all buffoons, Damon included. How they couldn’t see that she was damaged goods just like he was made absolutely no sense. She was as broken and destroyed and pieced back together with tape and spit and glue as he was. Maybe it was just like that stupid saying… birds of a feather flocked together. Or maybe it was just because the screaming nightmares in her eyes spoke to his.

“Are you really sure you want to do this, luv?” Enzo asked her. It wasn’t the first time he was asking and it probably wouldn’t be the last. Her plan was drastic in a way that he could admire, but also seemed fraught with a few thousand holes. Of course, when Bonnie had demanded he counter her plan with something better than what she was proposing, he had only been able to sputter and recommend locking her in the boarding house’s basement until she flipped it on to eat. Bonnie felt her plan was far more humane.

Bonnie nodded, her teeth gritted together. “Yes,” she said, her voice filled with ten thousand unnamed emotions. She was barely holding it together even though she kept telling herself that the solution was only a few hours away. It was driving in the car that had done it, she figured. It reminded her of the hopelessness that had overcome her periodically on her drive out to Nova Scotia in the prison world. She would swallow the panic and sadness down, her insides churning unhappily, but they also came back up.

She turned that haunted gaze to him and she could see the fire in her eyes. “All right, Bon, all right,” he said. “I agreed that this is the most… _humane_ plan but I just want you to start thinking that we may need to come up with a plan B or C. First plans hardly work out for all of us, eh?”

Her head came up and down, a twitch of a nod, an acknowledgement of the hard truth. She knew he was right. How many plans had they come up with that they had managed to pull off without a hitch since she had been sucked into this supernatural whirlwind? She couldn’t remember.

She clenched her teeth and her jaw jutted out as she girded herself for what was to come. She unhooked her seatbelt and turned around to face the black body-sized duffle bag in the back seat. It wasn’t the most elegant way to cart the blond around, but it was closest solution after Enzo had broken her neck. She was as docile as repeated neck snapping and heavy doses of vervaine could keep her.

She glanced back and met Enzo’s questioning gaze. He was trying to find out what was happening inside her. She wondered if anyone had looked nearly as concerned about him after his time with the Augustine Society. She somehow doubted it. “What?” She snapped at him, not meaning to sound so grumpy but she couldn’t help it. It was like her mind and her body were on two separate wavelengths. She couldn’t control herself half the time it seemed.

Enzo held is hands up on mock surrender. “Nothing, Bon,” he murmured. He pulled his gaze away from her and looked back at the bag that held Caroline, waiting for the next step.

Bonnie held her hands out and muttered a few words before the bag disappeared from sight. No matter how many times Enzo had watched the Bennett witch work her magic, he was always so very impressed. She was better than any of the other witches he had met through the years and she had a finesse that many witches tended to lack. Plus, she was easy on the eyes.

Lorenzo leaned into the backseat, resting his chest against the back of the driver’s seat. His hand reached out to where he knew the duffle bag to be and made contact. He let out a low whistle in appreciation of Bonnie’s fine handiwork. “I’ve got to hand it to you, luv; you are one frightening witch,” he assured her. When his dark eyes met hers, he could see the pride in her eyes.

“Thank you,” she told him, sounding as smug as she deserved to sound.

He let out a sigh and then opened the driver’s side door. “Well, let’s get the show on the road, Bon,” he said. As he slid from the comfort of their borrowed SUV, he glanced around.

Though he hadn’t been a vampire nearly as long as some other vampires he knew, he had traveled extensively. There had been some places, marks on the map in his mind, that had sparked his curiosity, but he hadn’t followed through on most of those vague desires. He couldn’t sit still in a city for five minutes most days; the fact that he had stuck around in Mystic Falls as long as he had spoke more to his loyalty to Damon than anything else.

He had what they called itchy feet. He just couldn’t help the desire to move on that came over him without warning. One minute, he’d be entrenched in some bar and enjoying himself. The next, he would get on a boat or a plane or in a car and he’d be off to the next town or city.

Careful to hide his movements from any passersby, Enzo lifted the invisible duffle bag onto his shoulder and settled Caroline’s dead weight carefully there. She balanced precariously against him as he moved around the back of the SUV, following Bonnie’s lead. She knew what she was about even if he questioned why. She thought this would work at least. He wasn’t sure what would happen if she failed.

He had to admit that the last few days had wrought a huge change in the tiny little witch. She was far more together than she had been since she came back.

Bonnie could admit that this mission was doing exactly what she had hoped and every time she closed her eyes, she saw the outcome she wanted. The fine tremors beneath her skin had leveled out. The phantom bugs had stopped crawling on her skin and the panic attacks had only hit her twice out of the blue as they drove south. She had managed to ride through the anxiety, taking deep breaths as surreptitiously as possible. She had tried to keep the truth from Enzo, but she had a feeling he knew what she had been about.

They walked around the building, covered in bright warm sunlight. There were people laughing and joking on the street, music coming from some unknown lone trumpet player down the block. The smells hit them both and they could smell seafood, alcohol, and ten thousand other smells. To Enzo, it was intoxicating. To Bonnie, it was nauseating. She could barely keep food down most days and she had curbed her drinking after one too many blackouts.

With a confidence she didn’t feel, Bonnie led the way toward the recessed door. She held her hand up to knock and then dropped it nervously. Her gaze met Enzo’s steady dark brown eyes. He seemed to be willing her to be brave, to be strong. Maybe that was just her eyes playing tricks on her. Maybe he was telling her silently to get the hell out of his place and take Caroline back to the boarding house so they could follow through on his idea. She didn’t like the idea of it; it felt too much like failure.

Before she could second guess herself again, she pounded on the heavy wooden door in front of her face. She knew better than to expect someone to immediately come to investigate, but after what felt like an eternity and was only thirty seconds, she resumed her pounding. Impatience wound its way around her heart and through her stomach, acid and bile building up the longer it took someone to show. What if no one was home? She asked herself.

“Hey, Bon,” Enzo began. He pitched his tone low so that only she or a wayward vampire could hear, but also kept a soothing lilt. She was acting a little crazed and they had been standing at the door for all of a minute. “Take a break, eh? You’re going to hurt yourself, luv.”

“What?” She asked, turning around to face him. Her eyes were wide and her breathing heavy. It was like she had just run a marathon and all she had done was knock on a door, silently demanding that someone be home. She just knew that she couldn’t turn around and go back home. If she did, she would have failed in her little mission and there was no telling how badly she would fall apart if she failed. She thought it would be pretty bad.

Behind her, Enzo heard someone unlocking the door before it was pulled open slowly. The creature on the other side wasn’t what he was expecting. He wore a beautifully tailored charcoal gray suit with a paisley tie carefully pinned into place. His hair was carefully, artfully almost, in place and he stood like he owned the place. Enzo wasn’t sure what he was expecting on his first meeting with an Original, but someone who could look comfortable in a board room or at the Stock Exchange definitely wasn’t it.

They were the bogeymen for his kind. How many whispered stories had he heard about them? Klaus, the Original Hybrid, feasted on vampire and werewolf hearts for breakfast. Elijah, the eldest Original, led whole armies into battle and had laughed when bloodied heads were thrown at his feet. Kol and Rebekah, the two youngest, were selfish and just as blood thirsty as the other two. These creatures were supposed to inspire fear and terror in the hearts of vampires everywhere, but what he saw inspired confusion, not fear.

Bonnie turned around and her eyes widened as she saw Elijah for the first time since he had left Mystic Falls. He was still just as carefully coifed as she remembered him. His suit was impeccable, fitting his lines perfectly. Every hair on his head was in place and the matching paisley kerchief in the pocket of his blazer was creased into a perfect equilateral triangle. Bonnie swallowed nervously as Elijah focused on her, before sweeping his eyes to Enzo.

“Miss Bennett,” Elijah said crisply, “what a surprise.” He sounded less than surprised. She couldn’t be sure, but she thought there was a touch of disapproval in his voice. Elijah had always been a stickler for protocol. Maybe she should have called first… not that she had their number or anything.

“Elijah,” Bonnie said, forcing a smile she didn’t feel. “It’s great to see you. I mean, really. I was beginning to think that I had chosen to go to the wrong oversized monument to one’s ego.” She let out a true sigh of relief. “Anyway, I was wondering if I could talk to you and that crazy brother of yours. We have some things we need to discuss.”

Elijah quirked an eyebrow at her but didn’t move away from his protective position by the door. Enzo squirmed around, uncomfortable with the tension in the air, and almost dropped the duffle bag on his shoulder. His arm came up and held it tight, the pressure of Caroline’s body a comforting weight for the moment. If he had to throw down with an Original, though, he was going to dump Caroline like yesterday’s trash. Maybe he’d use her invisible body as a clever distraction first…

With a faint, resigned sigh, Elijah stepped back and gestured for the two of them to enter his domain. “Thanks,” Bonnie said with clear relief.

“What she said,” Enzo said as he slipped by the reserved creature. As he slid into the courtyard beyond the doorway, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand to attention. He knew that all of the Originals were fearsome and capable. He didn’t think he would survive long if he did have to throw down with one of them. He hoped it wouldn’t come down to a fight before his natural proclivity towards bloodshed reasserted itself.

Elijah shut the door behind them and then gestured for the two of them to follow him into the building. Bonnie paused to take in the surroundings, a little surprised by the courtyard. It was green and filled with many plants she could name just from her days gardening. For some reason, the idea of the garden boxes all over the courtyard seemed incongruous. No matter how many times they surprised her, Bonnie couldn’t get the idea that these were cold blood killers out of her head. Greenery and killers didn’t mesh in her mind’s eye.

They followed Elijah down a hallway until they had come into an oversized sitting room. There were paintings of the Originals on the wall and Bonnie was fairly certain they had all been done by Klaus. She remembered the hybrid’s obsession with artwork from her conversations with Caroline when they had needed Care to distract him. “Please, make yourselves comfortable,” Elijah said.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Enzo said, eyes wide as he took in the surroundings. First on the docket, he dumped the invisible duffle bag with a thud that brought Elijah’s questioning eyes to him before they went to the floor. Bonnie stared at him as if he had grown another head. “What, Bon?” Enzo demanded, ignoring the Original. Deep down, he felt that ignoring something so powerful was not a good idea, but this wasn’t his show. It was hers.

“I can’t believe you,” Bonnie snapped as Elijah carefully studied the floor at Enzo’s feet thoughtfully. He left the room a second later, disappearing before Enzo’s sight could track him going out the door. He had to admit he was impressed. If they all moved that fast then… well, they were _definitely_ creatures he wouldn’t want to piss off… intentionally, anyway. His mouth had a habit of going off without him and it had a very nasty tendency of pissing off most people.

“When you have to carry around dead weight on your shoulder as surreptitiously as possible while out and about, then we’ll talk about how quickly you dump said dead weight in the opportunity presents itself,” he snapped back as he wandered through the room. There was a large wet bar filled with beautiful crystal decanters. They all looked happily filled with his favorite drink: bourbon.

“Oh, please,” Bonnie all but shrieked. “You are a vampire! With it comes this whole superhuman strength thing? Besides, she weighs about as much as I do!”

Enzo turned away from the wet bar to eyeball her thoughtfully. “Well, then when I have to carry your dead weight around and I get tired of it, you’ll know I will toss you down on the floor just as quickly.”

Bonnie sputtered nonsense in response. She wasn’t sure why she was so surprised by what he had said. He was basically an asshole. Before she could second guess herself, she made a gesture that looked suspiciously like she wanted to strangle him. A second later, bright pain exploded behind his eyes and he cursed loudly, heads pressed tightly against his eyeballs in an effort to lessen the pain. “Damn it, Bonnie!” Enzo barked.

She grinned unrepentantly at him, which was of course lost on him as he kept his eyes closed against the pain in his head. She hoped that would teach him to keep his smart ass comments to himself. Of course, since she had known Enzo for longer than five seconds, Bonnie knew it would never happen.

“Well, well, what have we here?” Klaus asked from behind Bonnie. He was amused by the scene he had walked in on.

One unknown vampire, dark-haired and with a smart mouth that could possibly rival his own, hunched over in pain from the headache blooming behind his eyes and the headache put there by the tiniest human on the planet. Witch or not, when you first looked at Bonnie, there was nothing remarkable or terribly frightening about her. It was only once you realized how powerful she was and what line of witches she came from that one could truly begin to respect her and her powers.

Bonnie spun around to face him and had to take a breath. He had a commanding presence, even being towered over by his older brother. She could admit that he looked as angelic as he sounded, but Bonnie knew it was just an act. He was as much the devil as the stories made him out to be.

“Klaus,” Bonnie said with a faint nod in his direction. His eyes flickered to her before honing in on Enzo. She swallowed and muttered, “This is my friend, Enzo.” The two vampires nodded vaguely at each other before all eyes focused on her again. She could practically feel the weight of their scrutiny on her. She fought with her nerves as she tried to think about how to explain what she was doing there.

“I have to admit, Bonnie, that when Elijah shared that it was you at my door, I was a little taken aback. I think I would be more surprised if it was the quarterback had come a-visiting,” he said, a faint dimple peeking out from his cheeks. “Would you care to explain what you and your _friend_ are doing here?”

Bonnie nodded slowly, swallowing back the bile that was threatening to come up like a volcanic rush. She threw her hands out towards the invisible duffle bag and muttered the counter spell to the invisibility spell she had cast out in the SUV. A second later, the bag appeared and she glanced back at Enzo. “Show them,” she said quietly.

Enzo hurried over and unzipped the bag to reveal the sleeping form of Caroline’s prone form tucked carefully into the duffle. Vervaine soaked ropes kept her hands and feet bound tightly, her neck kinked at a slight angle from the last time Enzo had been forced to snap her neck when she had come to. Even from a distance, the scent of vervaine filtered into the room.

Both Elijah and Klaus stepped forward to catch a glimpse of Caroline. They glanced at one another with curious blank expressions before they looked back at Bonnie, waiting patiently for her explanation. Picking at one of the charms on the charm bracelet she had put together with little symbols of her past, Bonnie carefully spoke while not looking at anyone as she explained.

“Caroline flipped the switch,” she said, her voice hitching as she spoke. The pain she felt, knowing that her best friend had been unable to handle the loss of her own mother filtered through her again. It was an all-consuming pain and one she understood well enough. Hadn’t she wanted to cut off her own emotions when her mother had been turned? When she had found her Grams dead? When Jeremy had died? When Kai had been torturing her without relief?

“As I recall, Miss Forbes had impeccable control over herself. What happened that she would turn off her humanity?” Elijah asked quietly. Both Elijah and Klaus were bewildered at the idea that Caroline Forbes had turned off her humanity. Caroline had seemed so in love with life and being a vampire that the idea she would do something that was antithetical to her very existence was jarring.

Bonnie clenched her teeth together as she spoke. “Caroline’s mother died. It was a… brain cancer. There was nothing anyone could do,” Bonnie said. “Caroline couldn’t handle it and she… she flipped her humanity switch after the funeral.”

“Sherriff Forbes is dead?” Elijah murmured in surprise.

Turning back to his brother, Klaus asked, “Why weren’t we aware of this? Aren’t we keeping an eye on things?”

Elijah shrugged at his brother noncommittally. “It hardly seemed worth the effort,” he responded.

Bonnie laughed bitterly. “You’ve missed out on a number of things then,” she said tiredly. She slid her fingers through her hair before she focused her eyes on Klaus. She could feel the heat in her gaze when she spoke again. “Look, I have had a very shitty year and frankly, you owe us, Klaus. We’ve helped you so many times and honestly, it’s time you pay us back. Make her turn it back on.”

Enzo caught the look of surprise on Klaus’s face before it disappeared behind his seemingly affable mask. He clasped his hands behind his back as he walked closer to the blond. As he looked down at her sleeping form, Enzo finally understood why Bonnie had chosen to come here instead of listening to him. For a brief second, he had been able to see something in the Original Hybrid’s eyes that seemed to indicate that he cared deeply for the girl at his feet.

“As I recall, the last time I saw you Bonnie, I was threatening to kill you after you spelled me in Elena’s living room, so that I wouldn’t kill your friends after they killed my brother,” Klaus said finally in response.

Bonnie blanched at the memory before she pulled back the stoic mask. It was the mask she wore when she was trying to keep the tremors beneath her skin in check; it was the mask she wore when she could remember the feel of Kai torturing her before the next panic attack silently came and went; and it was the same mask that she had worn time and time again, facing off against the Originals.

Enzo gaped at Klaus, trying to figure out why Bonnie would even try this route before they tried his. If what Klaus said was true, then no amount of emotional ties to Caroline was going to make them help her. Enzo wished he had known what the gang had done to and with the Originals before agreeing to chauffeur the two of them across the south.

“Does that mean that you’re not going to help then?” She asked. Enzo had to give Bonnie credit. She was doing an admirable job of staring down the devil even if he thought this had been a complete waste of time.

“And why, may I ask, is it so important to have her turn her humanity back on?” Klaus asked instead.

“Are you kidding me?” Bonnie demanded. “Since she’s turned it off, seventeen people have been hurt and six people are dead. Some of the dead could be Stefan’s, but—”

“Stefan has gone ripper?” Klaus asked, incredulously. He turned back to his brother. “We really must be keeping an eye on Mystic Falls, Elijah.”

“I’ll see to it,” Elijah murmured softly.

“Are you for real?” Bonnie shrieked. Both Klaus and Elijah looked back at her, their expressions cold and dark. “You’re more interested in the fact that Stefan decided to turn his humanity off after Caroline _forced_ him to do so? You couldn’t care less that Caroline, your ‘ _sweetheart_ ,’ has been ripping her way from one jugular to the next, causing pain and destruction in her wake simply because she is too much of a fucking _coward_ to face her own grief?”

Silence descended between the four of them. Bonnie shot daggers at first one and then the other brother while Enzo tried to do his best to keep a low profile. He was also trying to make sure that he was available if he should need to get Bonnie out of the line of fire. He had no doubt she could take care of herself if the need arose being a Bennett witch and all, but he didn’t believe for a second she would come out completely unscathed. For some reason, the thought of her getting hurt because she was upset about her best friend was a thought that he couldn’t stand.

After a tense moment, Klaus let out a sigh before he looked back at Elijah. Elijah’s expression was as stoic as Bonnie’s had been before her explosion, but there was movement in his eyes. Enzo wasn’t sure, but he thought that the elder Original was calculating something before he glanced at his brother with a faint shake of his head. Bonnie saw the look as well and her eyes hardened as disappointment washed over her in a cold rush.

“Fine,” Bonnie said coldly. She looked back at Enzo. “We’ll lock her in the basement of the boarding house like you said. Maybe she’ll think starving and desiccating is worse than continuing with this charade.” Enzo took a step forward, kneeling down to begin zipping the bag back up.

“Wait,” Klaus said firmly. Enzo glanced up, his hand still on the zipper.

“No,” Bonnie said coldly. She gestured for Enzo to zip up the bag, but he remained still. As much as he may want to help her and be there for her, the biggest bad in the room had told him to stop and his self-preservation was at an all-time high when he knew he wasn’t the biggest bad in the room.

“Miss Bennett,” Elijah said softly. “It’s not that we do not wish to help you or Miss Forbes. She was a delightful young woman for a fledgling vampire. Setting the past between us aside, for that reason alone we would do as you asked if we could.”

Bonnie frowned. “What do you mean?”

Klaus sighed again. “You’re asking us to compel a vampire who purposely turned off their humanity to turn it back on again. There could be side effects…”

“What do you mean?” She repeated.

It was Elijah’s turn to sigh this time. “We’ve found that while we are able to compel vampires, quite obviously, there have been some unexpected side effects when we compel vampires regarding the humanity switch. Sometimes the compulsion does the exact opposite of what we want. We want a vampire to turn off their humanity and their emotions, already overwhelming and difficult to control, become that much worse.”

Klaus continued. “Or, on the opposite side, if we compel them to turn on their humanity, sometimes they become a ripper. Or are unable to feel their emotions ever again.”

“You’re lying,” Bonnie accused them both. She looked from one to the other, her eyes wide and panicked. “You turned off Stefan’s humanity; I know you did. I remember the story. And his mother helped him to turn his back on.”

“I hardly cared about Stefan when I compelled him to turn it off; why would I care if there were adverse effects?” Klaus pointed out. Bonnie opened her mouth to refute him, but couldn’t think of a plausible explanation. “Stefan’s mother should have known better than to try it.”

“Not likely,” Enzo jumped in. When he spoke, his bitterness about the subject matter was more than clear to the three listening to him. “Lily has always been a selfish creature and she frankly knows very little about being a vampire. She probably had no idea that there could have been an ‘adverse effect,’ as you put it. And if she did know, she probably didn’t care.”

Bonnie opened her mouth a second time, this time trying to figure out how to negate what Enzo was saying and found that nothing came to mind. She took a step back, looking down at her best friend. She felt overwhelmed and on the verge of panic. As though sensing that she was about ready to have a meltdown, Enzo moved close to her, keeping his hands off of her. When she was going over the precipice, he knew that touching her could set the panic attack off that much faster.

Bonnie fought through it viciously, letting the silence settle between them. She could feel everyone staring at her, waiting for her to say something. When she felt the blockage in her throat loosen enough to the point where she could swallow again, she took a chance to glance at the two Originals.

Their eyes were wide, startled at whatever battle they had seen playing out on her face. She felt shame for a moment, dark and deadly as it swooped through her. She should have never let them see her personal battle, the fight that had gone on deep within as she fought through the muddied waters of her own post-traumatic stress disorder.

At a loss, Bonnie finally whispered, “Then what do I do? I need my best friend. I can’t… I can’t let her stay like this.”

Elijah and Klaus spent a few more seconds silently communicating with one another. Finally it was Klaus who spoke. “You don’t have the facilities to handle this type of thing,” he said slowly. “I recommend you leave her here in our care. We’ll work on having her turn her emotions back on and send her back up to Mystic Falls when she’s ready.”

Bonnie shook her head violently at the thought. “I won’t leave her here with you, Klaus,” Bonnie said. “You know I don’t trust you and I don’t believe you _won’t_ take advantage of her like this. You know as well as I do just what it’s like when a vampire turns off the switch. I will be _damned_ if I am going to let Caroline’s guilt trip be that much worse because I left her in the hands of a predator like you!”

Enzo caught the coldness that came into Klaus’s expression, but he didn’t think that Bonnie did. She was too focused on herself. Enzo had no doubt that he was indeed doing this for her best friend. He knew how much Bonnie needed the blond bombshell. But what he didn’t think she realized as that this was a sort of analogy for some of what Bonnie had gone through in her own life. She was using this attempt to rescue Caroline as a metaphor to rescue herself.

Her reaction to Klaus’s suggestion was a pure holdover from her time on the prison world. She had forced Damon back to the real world, having the magic for only one trip at that moment and knowing that she could most likely, eventually, get herself back home while he would have been stranded there. But at the end of the day, Bonnie had been left alone in the hands of a madman. And now, she was identifying Klaus as the madman while Caroline was her fill-in.

Enzo wasn’t sure if he truly believed all the stories about Niklaus Mikaelson. It was possible he really was as bad as all of that, but it seemed like an awful lot of evil going around in one body if all those stories were true. And somewhere deep inside, Enzo honestly believed that there was no way anyone or anything _that_ evil could exist.

The Augustine Society had been evil, no doubt about it. But it had been a group of people who had made it that evil. They had all added their own flavor of evil to the organization until they had the horror shop that had kidnapped him and tortured him for five decades. There was no way, Enzo felt, that there could be a single person who was really that awful a creature that they were what people would refer to as “pure evil.”

“All right, Bon,” Enzo cut in before Klaus could say anything cruel or biting. “Why don’t we all just stay here then? The Originals clearly have more than enough space for the three of us and maybe, you can spend two seconds apologizing so they’ll take us up on my offer. Anyway, _this_ way, Elijah and Klaus can help Caroline work on getting her humanity turned on and you could, you know, take a break for once.”

Bonnie spun on him. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

Enzo sighed theatrically. “It means that you’re wound up tighter than a drum and ready to explode. It also means that you’re pushing the buttons of the very people you’ve asked for help,” he pointed out.

“I—” Bonnie’s shoulders sagged as she realized that he was right. She had blundered right into it. She looked back at Klaus. “I’m sorry,” she told him, her dark eyes wide and filled with unshed tears. “I’ve had a really crappy year. It’s not an excuse, but I just… thought you should know.”

Klaus studied her and he could tell that she was being honest with him. She was clearly on the verge of breaking down, though he couldn’t fathom what could have possibly have caused the witch enough angst that she was effectively accusing him of having absolutely no morality whatsoever. He could understand why the Bonnie of a few years ago would think that, but after all that they had done for and with the Mystic Falls group, it seemed like a slap in the face to all the times they had helped one another.

“I believe my impugned honor can… bounce back from it,” Klaus replied stiffly. He looked back at his brother before saying, “it’s settled then. Caroline, Bonnie, and Enzo will be our house guests. This way, we can keep a close eye on Caroline while she turns her humanity on the old fashioned way. And this way, Bonnie can be sure that I don’t do anything regrettable while Caroline is not herself.”

“Of course, Niklaus,” Elijah said. He turned back to Enzo and Bonnie and gestured toward the doorway that he and his brother had used to enter the room. “I will take the two of you to your rooms. You will be right next to one another. Miss Bennett, once Miss Forbes is awake, she will be in the room next door to yours so that you can keep an ear out to make sure that she is safe from harm.” He gestured for the two of them to lead the way.

Bonnie felt like a heel, but she had to ask. “And Caroline… are you going to take her to her room too?” She directed her question at Klaus, attempting for meek and coming off as exhausted instead.

It was Elijah who answered her though. “I think it would be wisest if we kept her locked in our own version of the boarding house basement until she wakes up,” Elijah responded not unkindly. “It appears that she has been… out of commission for some time and may not quite be herself, humanity switch notwithstanding, upon waking.”

“Yes, of course,” Bonnie agreed, feeling that much worse as she stepped around her best friend to follow Elijah.

As his brother led the two from the room, Klaus watched them leave. He was incredibly curious about what had been happening in Mystic Falls, not least because the fallout had dropped these three on his doorstep.

The look in Bonnie’s eyes as she had accused, berated, and demanded their help had been captivating though. Something horrible had happened to the Bennett witch and the tough-as-nails soldier she had become over the years, fighting whatever supernatural war she had to fight in to keep herself and her friends alive, had broken down. She was pretending that she wasn’t, but Klaus knew the looks she wore. He had worn them once too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have always disliked the idea that the Originals can compel a vampire to turn on or off their humanity. I don't know why I dislike the idea so much, but that's the reason why I've decided to diverge from canon.
> 
> Also, I love Bonnie. She's my favorite character. I was always very disappointed that they didn't explore her clear PTSD after her time in Kai's prison world and sobbed when the writers took Enzo away from her. So, this is me exploring what I thought it would be like to be Bonnie after coming back from the prison world and also me exploring her getting to keep Enzo.


	3. all you have is your fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie and Enzo thought that the biggest decision that was facing them was whether or not to head south. They were wrong.

Bonnie smooshed her face harder into the feather light pillow, trying to block out the light and the noise while also trying to block out the memories that kept surging. She pressed her face harder into the pillow until she could no longer breathe. Holding her breath against the onslaught that threatened to overwhelm her, she kept her face pushed into the pillow until her lungs began to ache from lack of breath.

She turned her head to the side and let out her trapped breath, breathing in slow and steady. This time, her little ritual worked. The demons were held at bay and she didn’t have to get sucked into another flashback. Next time, there was no guarantee that she would be successful. It was always hit or miss. She should mark this one off in the win column, but it was overshadowed by her idiotic behavior with Klaus.

She honestly couldn’t really understand what had happened. The whole of their conversation with both Original brothers had been like a dream now. She couldn’t fully remember what she said. All she could remember was the metallic taste of panic in her mouth. It would dull and fade, ready to disappear before it came rushing back again. She had had the shakes following Elijah out of the room towards where she and Enzo would be staying, but the memory of exactly what she said and why was fading.

She tried to figure out if Enzo had been right. Did she really need to apologize to the big bad? She had, of course, but she needed Klaus to do more than just look at her with sympathy. She would have done just about anything to ensure that he would fix Caroline even if the current solution was far from what she was expecting when she had first suggested this kidnapping scheme to Enzo. Since when did the big bad have feelings?

But in situations like this, Enzo had a tendency of being right. He could read the room while she was too busy wrapped in her own pain and suffering to really understand what had happened. She couldn’t tell the nuance anymore. She couldn’t understand half the time what anyone was talking about. She felt like an alien from an alien world a lot of the time. She had a feeling that Enzo, after having been held against his will for far longer than she had been, could completely understand what she was feeling.

And that, she assured herself, was why she liked him so much.

Bonnie tried to force her thoughts away from the past, away from the horror show of her life for the last few months, to look toward the future. She tried to envision what it would be like to get Caroline back to normal. She tried to see the smile on her friend’s face when she finally woke up from this nightmare. Bonnie knew, of course, that there would be an adjustment period but she thought that Caroline would be pretty happy at being back to normal instead of the caricature of herself that she had become.

As she tried to assure herself that she was doing the right thing, Bonnie felt her anger beginning its slow burn whenever she thought about Caroline’s reasons for doing this. She could understand it all. If she had the ability to turn off her emotions, she would have a long time ago. Too often, Bonnie found herself wishing she could find a spell that would mimic the turning off the vampire’s humanity switch so that she could stop aching for five whole minutes.

But at the end of the day, Bonnie really had to admit to herself that she didn’t understand it. What she had said to Klaus was the truth of the matter: she thought that Caroline was a coward. She understood intellectually that vampire emotions were worse than human emotions. She couldn’t really picture it or truly understand what that meant though. At the end of the day, as someone who had to suffer through her own emotional baggage every single second she was awake and half the time that she was asleep, it was the coward’s way out that Caroline had chosen.

Bonnie didn’t respect the choice and thought that she most likely never would. It didn’t matter though, however she felt about it or why she felt that way. All that mattered, she assured herself, was that she needed to get her best friend back. She needed to be able to feel like she was back in the saddle, rescuing whoever was in distress when they needed rescuing. Elena knew what she wanted out of life; she didn’t need Bonnie to come riding in on a white horse, armed to the nines. But Caroline did and there was nothing that Bonnie understood more than the need to be rescued.

She rolled onto her side, bunching the pillow underneath her head as she curled into a ball. She stared blankly at the setup of the room, her eyes coming to rest on the bureau with its mirror and the various pillar candles ready for her to light with her magic. When she had studied the surface, her eyes skipped on to the rest of the room.

It was a nice place, she could admit. She liked it. She wasn’t sure what it was about the room that called to her. Was it the candles that were waiting for her to light them? Or maybe it was the painting across from the bed of a copse of trees with a small red-brown fox peering out from its burrow in the lower left hand corner. Maybe it was the two large windows that flanked either side of the bed, letting so much warm light into the room. Or maybe it was the decadent headboard with its thick plush, the same color as the small red-brown fox in the painting across from her.

Maybe it was the fact that she was so sick and tired of seeing her own room and her own things that seeing the new surroundings was enough.

She closed her eyes, trying to rest like Enzo had told her to do. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept. It had probably been before she had gone to Enzo with her plan to kidnap Caroline. How many days ago had that been? Three? Four?

Time had stopped to mean a steady progression forward. Time had come to mean fits and starts, one moment she was in the middle of doing something like kidnapping her best friend and watching Enzo snap her neck so that they could tie her up. The next second it was the two of them sitting in the car, driving through the darkness like sharks hunting for the scent of blood, Caroline all but forgotten in her duffle bag prison.

Bonnie sighed irritably and sat up. There was no way she was going to be able to sleep, not really. Maybe she should knock on the door that adjoined her room to Enzo’s to see if he could compel her to sleep. Or maybe she should check her memory for a sleep spell. There wasn’t any alcohol to knock her out and she was going to stay sober while they transitioned Caroline back to normal. She just needed to sleep and to actually feel rested afterward for once.

As if her thought about knocking on the adjoining door had summoned him, Enzo knocked on that very door before slowly opening the door to peer in at her. When he saw her sitting up on the bed, he opened the door further and came in with the bag of things he had packed for her.

He hadn’t known how long it would take them to get to New Orleans or how long it would be before they went back to Mystic Falls so he had been the practical one, packing a bag of Bonnie’s things. He had even closed his eyes as his hands slid into her unmentionable drawer, trying to be as much a gentleman as she seemed to expect him to be. Bonnie had been too focused on the plan to think that rationally.

He set the bag on the chair beside the bureau before he came over to sit on the edge of the bed. He nodded to the bag as he explained, “I packed things for you, luv. I wasn’t sure how long this little adventure of ours would take and thought you’d appreciate having clothes to change into.”

Bonnie was speechless for a moment. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of the practicalities. Kidnapping had been the only thing she had focused on and here was this, this… selfish jerk of a vampire telling her that he had done all that planning for her. She swallowed thickly around the lump in her throat that had appeared out of nowhere. “Thank you,” she responded, her voice hoarse.

“I take it you can’t sleep?” He asked.

She shook her head. “It’s a new bed, new surroundings,” she lied. “It’s hard to get comfortable.”

“What are you talking about?” Enzo demanded. Bonnie held her breath, wondering if he would call her out on her lie. “This is the most comfortable bed I have ever felt except for the one in my room.” He nodded back towards the open door that separated their two rooms. Bonnie offered him a half smile in response. “It’s like sitting on a cloud and I can only imagine sleeping on a cloud is better than sitting on one.”

“Yeah, well…” Bonnie shrugged it off.

“You should eat something then,” he said and stood up, holding his hand out to her.

Bonnie took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. She shook her head, grimacing at the idea of food. “I’m not hungry,” she told him.

Enzo studied her pale face, the hard glitter of her eyes. He didn’t think she was aware that she had lost weight since her return from the prison world. In fact, he was pretty sure that she wasn’t aware at all. “The only thing you’ve eaten in the last twenty-four hours were the two energy bars I forced you to eat on the drive down,” he reminded her.

“Really?” Bonnie asked, confused. She couldn’t remember eating anything for far longer than that. She saw the concern on his face at her question. “I don’t remember eating them is all,” she finished lamely. “No big deal.”

“And if you can’t remember scarfing them down as if you were starving, then I suggest we find the kitchen in this place and get started on finding something good to eat.” He turned toward the door that led back to the hallway Elijah had led them down earlier. After a few seconds, he turned back around and offered her his arm this time. “I don’t want this to get around to anyone we know, but I happen to be a very good maker of breakfast.”

Bonnie offered him a tight smile in response. “Damon is too,” she said, her eyes far away.

Enzo, realizing his mistake, tried to think of something to pull her out of the memories she seemed to be slipping into. “And what about dinner? Are you any good at making dinner?”

She held her hand up and waffled it back and forth as he began leading her toward the door, pulling her as he moved slowly. She shuffled after him willingly enough.

He didn’t think she knew he was steering her to where he wanted to go, concern for her the overriding thing above all else. She was clearly falling apart, the new scenery seeming to make the fall that much faster. He had to do something to keep her steady and stable. The next few weeks or months while they worked on Caroline turning her humanity on were going to be hard enough.

“Now, I know the Stock Broker didn’t show us where the kitchen was, but I bet with my vampiric sense of smell and your grumbling stomach, we can find it.”

Bonnie giggled as they entered the hallway. “The _what_ broker?”

Enzo stopped for a moment to look back at her, confused by the laughter. “What is so funny?”

“His name is Elijah,” Bonnie answered, smiling at him.

He snorted in response before continuing on their adventure to discover the kitchen. “I don’t care what his name is. He looked like he would have been comfortable walking down Wall Street.”

“That’s both leisure and business wear for Elijah,” Bonnie explained. “He’s always dressed like that.”

“I’m sorry, Bon, but as someone who has been forced to where a three-piece suit before, I can assure you that there is nothing leisurely about it. Those things are a fancy looking straight jacket as far as I’m concerned.”

“Apparently, Elijah feels differently about them.” They were quiet as they passed doorways and found the staircase that led them back to the parlor that Elijah had led them into earlier. Quietly she said, “What did you think of Klaus? I mean, nothing against Elijah – he can take care of himself too. But it’s Klaus that everyone is focused on.”

“He’s… not really what I was expecting either,” Enzo finally admitted. “I don’t know what I was expecting but that wasn’t it.”

Deadpan, Bonnie asked, “I know. He’s way shorter than the vampire bogeyman should be.”

He snorted his laughter before saying, “Yes. I was definitely expecting someone taller.” After a moment, he continued, “he was more reserved than I’d been led to believe. You get to hear all these fantasies about the Originals and you build up a certain expectation… one that he definitely did not fill.”

“Well, I’m sure if you tell him all this, he’ll be sure to meet your expectations all that much sooner. I mean, you’ve only just met him anyway. It’s only a matter of time before he does something dastardly and fiendish. Then he’ll fit your expectations.”

“You don’t have much faith in people being able to change?” Enzo asked quietly.

Bonnie paused before answering. She could sense that there was more to his question that what he was saying, but she couldn’t quite parse it out. “I didn’t say that,” she said slowly. She could tell she was walking into a mine field, but none of the mines were marked. “Based on history alone, though, assuming Klaus has changed is liable to get someone hurt. And that someone will be me or Caroline.”

“Hm,” he replied. As they moved further toward the back of the compound, he began to pick up voices coming from the direction they were headed. He held his hand up and cocked his head to the side, using his advanced hearing to eavesdrop. “They’re talking back there,” he breathed into Bonnie’s ear.

She shivered as his breath caressed her skin and pulled away from him. “What are they saying?” She murmured back.

He pulled her forward, keeping his fingers to his lips to keep her quiet as they slipped into a paneled dining room. He pulled her forward, keeping his steps light so he could hear their voices as they took on cadence and lilt. He was sure that it was Klaus and Elijah talking and that they were discussing his and Bonnie’s unannounced visit.

He stopped beside the open door towards the back of the dining room as Elijah’s voice reached him: “You absolutely believe that this is the wisest course of action, Niklaus?” His tone was strident, demanding. Whatever they had been discussing had not gone over well with the older Original.

With a theatrical sigh that would have made a drama teacher proud, Klaus answered, “Yes, Elijah. I absolutely believe that this is the _wisest_ course of action. You saw the witch. She is very clearly on the edge of breaking down just as the vampire said she was. And can you honestly tell me that the plight of our sweet Caroline doesn’t tug at your heart strings?”

Elijah snorted derisively. “It does not, brother, and nor should the ‘plight’ of the young vampire cause you any distress. She has made it quite clear that she wants nothing to do with you.”

“Be that as it may, Elijah, I have determined that she needs my help.”

“How could you possibly?” A sound rang out in the room beyond them. To Bonnie, it sounded like something had been tossed in a fit of rage. She wasn’t sure if it had been Elijah who had done the throwing or Klaus.

The thought that Elijah was upset enough to show any emotion was terrifying. He had been the one Original that she could always count on to be in complete control of himself. “You know perfectly well what you’re doing and it isn’t what you should be focusing on, Niklaus! You are putting your daughter in needless danger by entertaining this nonsense!” Elijah shouted.

Bonnie gasped, putting a hand to her lips as her wide eyes found Enzo’s. She couldn’t fathom what she had just heard or even remotely put it into perspective. It made absolutely no sense to her whatsoever. By the look on Enzo’s face, it was clear he was just as confused by the words Elijah had used.

“You forget, Elijah, that _I_ am Hope’s father, not you. And you forget that I am no child, needing my older brother to keep me focused. I am _fully_ capable of multitasking!”

“Miss Forbes has always been a distraction, brother. I recall how much wasted time you spent in your failed attempts to woo her in Mystic Falls. We need you focused on the threat to hand, not the impossible future you dream for yourself!”

Having had enough of eavesdropping, and realizing how ridiculous it was to assume they didn’t in fact know that they were being listened to, Bonnie pushed past Enzo to enter into the room. “Bonnie, wait,” Enzo snarled quietly as she walked by him. He tried to grab her arm as she walked by, but she shook him off as she barreled into the room.

The kitchen was as bright and cheery as the rest of the compound appeared, with wide windows and modern lines. Klaus stood at one end of the room with Elijah at the other. Between the two of them, a broken piece of pottery peppered the floor where it had been tossed in someone’s fit. The two looked up at her as she came into the room, Enzo on her heels. Klaus looked bored and uninterested in either the conversation or the interruption. Elijah looked like he wanted to break someone’s neck.

Swallowing against the fear that peppered the back of her throat with bile, Bonnie said, “Look. If I showed up at the wrong time because you guys have yet another period drama getting ready to unfold, just fucking tell me and we’ll get out of here. I would like to remind everyone in this room that I _offered_ to head back home to deal with Caroline’s issues on my own,” she added.

“And you absolutely should follow through on that offer, Miss Bennett,” Elijah assured her. “This is no time for us to take in a pity case… no offense meant.”

“Offense taken,” she snapped at him before she could stop herself. Klaus smirked, but offered nothing in his expression to give her something to latch onto. She turned to face Elijah, arms akimbo as she spoke again. “So if you don’t mind, what the hell is going on here? What did I walk into?”

Elijah looked like he would rather eat his kerchief than tell her what was going on. Klaus sighed and said, “You’re quite correct, Bonnie. Things here are a tad unsettled—”

“—a _tad_ —“ Elijah sputtered, intent on interrupting.

Klaus overrode him when he continued speaking to Bonnie, “—but we’re handling them, no matter what my brother may like to have you believe.”

She looked at Klaus suspiciously before turning to face Elijah. He looked like he was going to have an apoplectic fit if he didn’t get a word in. “Well, your brother has glossed over everything I heard when I was eavesdropping in his usual ‘it’s no big deal’ kind of a way. Care to tell me what is actually going on and without all the commentary about what a terrible leader your brother is?”

Enzo stared at Bonnie, thrilled to finally see a glimmer of the take-charge witch he had admired before her destruction along with the Other Side. They hadn’t always seen eye-to-eye and he had often found himself at odds with her. But at the end of the day, he could respect the determination that had given her a back bone strong enough to stand up to the bogeymen of vampire kind.

He had always known she had spunk. He had seen it time and time again before she wound up in Kai’s version of the Groundhog Day movie. But after she had returned, whatever spunk she had once had appeared to have been pulled from her or had been buried so deeply that she would never find it again. If he had known all it would take to give her what she needed was to put her in a verbal sparring match with these two, he would have done this sooner.

Elijah took a deep breath and finally began explaining. “You may as well hear it now since it’s bound to get out eventually. We have learned that our maternal aunt has threatened to take Klaus’s daughter. Yes, he has daughter.

“This aunt of ours is a formidable opponent from what we have gathered and frankly, we do not have the time to waste attempting to have a baby vampire’s humanity switch turned back on.” After a moment, he added, “I truly mean no disrespect to your friend, Miss Bennett. Miss Forbes is admirable in her own right.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Bonnie said, waving away his weak attempt at politeness. “So, back to this whole daughter thing… You mean, Klaus has turned some girl into a vampire and this relative of yours is after her?”

“No,” Klaus said with a sigh. “Hope is my daughter. Hayley, who you may recall, is her mother.”

Eyes wide, Bonnie turned to stare at Enzo as she tried to wrap her head around what he had told her. Enzo couldn’t quite comprehend the idea that a vampire, even a hybrid, had been able to father a child either. Who was Hayley? He wondered.

“That’s gross,” Bonnie said, “and I wouldn’t tell Caroline that when she wakes up. She’s not going to be happy that you have a kid and doubly so when she finds out who her mother is.”

“See?” Elijah jumped in. “There’s yet another person who may put Hope in harm’s way because of you, Niklaus.”

Bonnie snorted. “First off, how dare you assume my best friend would try to hurt a baby? She may be without her humanity, but she’s never once been interested in killing children so I think we can assume that she’s safe.”

Bonnie heaved a sigh as she folder her arms over her chest and leaned against the island in the middle of the room. “Secondly, what I _actually_ meant is that it’s entirely possible Caroline will go after Hayley. She kind of owes her a neck snap anyway.”

“While I would be more than interested in pursuing that conversation at any other time,” Klaus said, “I must assure you, Bonnie, that you did the correct thing by bringing Caroline to me. No matter what my brother may have you believe, we can indeed handle more than one crisis at a time.”

Elijah looked like he wanted to jump across the room and have it out with Klaus right then and there. Enzo, sensing that the elder brother was considering just such a possibility, cut in before they could cause any bloodshed. “This is all really fascinating stuff, but I have to ask if there’s anything for Bonnie to eat. She hasn’t eaten and she needs to. We can continue the fascinating personal history lessons _after_ she’s eaten.”

When three pairs of eyes turned on him, he suddenly wished he had the ability to turn as invisible as the duffle bag they had carried Caroline in. It was one thing to be pinned down by a gimlet glare from Bonnie, but when the Originals added the heat of their stares in his direction, he suddenly completely understood why there were so many terror tales told about them.

Even with the desire to disappear through the floor, Enzo met each glare in turn, refusing to back down. He really was riveted by all of the things they were revealing, but she needed to eat before she passed out and they had to wait until she recovered to continue this conversation.

“I’m not hungry,” Bonnie finally said. She shot him a nasty look before turning back to Elijah. “Okay, so this kid of Klaus’s is in danger because your aunt is after her. I thought all of you were all that was left of the Mikaelsons.”

“Yes, well… our family may have grown in a few ways over the last few months,” Klaus said. There was a hint of discomfort, which Bonnie honed in on.

“What’s that mean? You have more brothers and sisters that I need to be aware of?”

Elijah and Klaus looked at each for a moment in perfect understanding before Klaus muttered vaguely, “Yes, but you need not worry about them. They’re being taken care of.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes. “Okay, I’ll believe that when I see it.” She sighed and shook her head. After a moment, she looked back at Enzo and said, “You were right. We should have handled this in house. I didn’t think…” She stopped for a moment before she continued. “I should have realized that everyone’s lives were still moving forward when I came up with this lame brain idea of mine.”

“Bonnie,” Klaus said forcefully. “No matter what Elijah may have you believe, we will handle this situation with my aunt. It is my _daughter_ that she is threatening and I will die before anything happens to her.” Bonnie stared into Klaus’s eyes and couldn’t help but believe him. He believed what he was saying at any rate and for a moment, she felt a thrill of excitement that he would put that same intensity to the problem of getting Caroline to turn her humanity back on for her.

She had seen Klaus put his mind to something – breaking his curse for one – and knew that even if it looked like they were going to lose, he was going to win no matter the costs. It was what made him so frightening. He would do whatever it took to ensure that his goals were met, even if it meant that people may be hurt because of what he had to do to achieve what he wanted. Klaus was nothing if not a hunter.

Bonnie looked at Enzo and saw the distrust as clear as day. She may be willing to believe Klaus because she had seen him in action, but Enzo never had. All he had to draw conclusions from where based on the tall tales, mixed in with the true ones, that vampires told each other about the creatures they were descended from. “I believe him,” she told him simply.

Enzo shook his head, beginning to realize that he had walked into a trap without sensing it. If Bonnie was sure that, even with the supernatural goings on happening around them, Klaus would do what he said and help Caroline, then he had only one choice left to make. Did he stay or go? Did he keep her safe as he had fully intended on doing initially or did he give in to his selfish temptation to drop this nonsense and get out of there before things got rough?

“You know that you’re basically getting sucked into a supernatural war that has nothing to do with you, right?” Enzo asked finally.

Bonnie looked at Klaus and then at Elijah. She looked down at the floor and finally said, “Yeah, I know. But if it means that I might get my best friend back at the end of it, then this is what I’m going to do. You don’t have to stay though. You didn’t sign on for this.”

The fact that she was giving him an out, the fact that she knew he had already begun to weigh the pros and cons of sticking it out with her, bothered him. He had never considered himself a hero. Sure, he had done things that may have qualified as heroic over the years, but at the end of the day, he could count on himself and no one else.

At some point since Bonnie had come back, he had started to trust her. And he had started to count on her. He didn’t know how that had happened or when it had started, but it was staring him directly in the face. And he knew that no matter how much he may have wanted to flee the house, get away from the Originals and whatever ridiculous war they were no doubt dragging him into, he wouldn’t leave Bonnie to face it alone. She didn’t have anyone else she could trust but him, even if he was as untrustworthy as they came.

“I’ll stay,” Enzo said finally. “But only if you eat something.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes. “Fine. I guess I’m starting to get hungry anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for anyone who doesn't like the Hayley/Hope story line that happened. I actually do and I've always wondered what Caroline would do about it. She's never really given a chance to react in TVD. That said, we'll finally get to meet my version of a Caroline without her humanity in the next chapter.
> 
> Thanks for reading so far.


	4. sick of being poised

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline and Klaus finally meet again.

Klaus studied the image on the canvas in frustration. He had been attempting to get the right mix of color for the eyes, but every mix was wrong. It didn’t matter how many different browns, reds, and golds he mixed together because every time the colors touched and he swirled them together, they came out too brown or too red. Sighing in frustration, he stepped back from the canvas.

As always, having spent time at the easel was enough to keep him calm. It also helped him to think and he had to come up with some plan that would work to have Caroline turn her humanity back on. It would be easier, he mused, to simply compel her but he didn’t dare take the chance. He wanted to bring her back just as herself.

He could admit to a certain curiosity about what Caroline would be like with her humanity turned off, though. She had been vivacious, full of life when it had been on. Vampires, when they turned their humanity off, had no emotions, true, but they also tended to be more practical. How would that streak of pragmatism show up in Caroline? Would she be a caricature of herself or would pieces of her slip through?

It happened. It wasn’t common, but it did happen. Caroline was bigger than life on the average day; she most likely would be without her humanity.

She was someone who drew the eye, someone who demanded attention just by walking into the room. She never asked for it; it was simply hers for the taking. He honestly expected no less from someone who had won Miss Mystic Falls. She would be more so the bell of the ball without her humanity, he assumed, able to draw even the most introverted person to her. The magnetism she had carried naturally would be magnified.

She was also a compulsive list maker and able to think logically even on her best days. He had little doubt that her streak of logistics had been magnified as well. He couldn’t help but be interested in how that could play out, especially if he could use it to his advantage against his aunt.

He knew too little about Dahlia to be comfortable or to be able to adequately use the ability, but he at least knew where he could go to seek information. And when he had enough, if she truly was as capable of plotting as she had been with her humanity on, he hoped he could use it to his advantage… with her permission of course.

He purposely kept his thoughts to the personality changes that most likely had happened. He knew that they would be there. Bonnie had mentioned that many people had been hurt by Caroline and that some had even died. That had surprised him. A compulsive bag feeder with her humanity on, the knowledge that she had been living off the vein and not caring what became of her food had been shocking. She should have been able to utilize her impeccable control even without her emotions in place. Maybe she truly had stopped caring if she hurt people.

If that was the case, then she was more dangerous than he had assumed she would be. He couldn’t have a vampire without their humanity in his home with his daughter possibly coming in, no matter what Bonnie had said about her not having hurt children or babies. The protective instincts of the father in him wouldn’t let her within an inch of his daughter if he thought that there was even the smallest possibility she would hurt Hope.

Hayley on the other hand… well, he could take her or leave her. She was family, of course, but she had a way of climbing under his skin and doing the very thing that aggravated him most. And she always suspected his motives. Everyone did because that was what they just did where he was concerned, but he felt that she should give him a little more trust after all they had gone through together to bring Hope into the world and to keep her safe. Didn’t Hayley owe him just a modicum of trust?

He glanced back toward the open door of his studio, listening carefully. Whatever Bonnie and her overprotective friend had done to Caroline had kept the young vampire down for hours. He shouldn’t have been surprised, though. Bonnie was a very capable witch, no matter what she may have been going through lately. She could have put the vampire to sleep without blinking an eye.

As his roving thoughts focused on Bonnie, he pictured her in his mind just as she had been after the breakfast Enzo had made for her in the unfamiliar kitchen. She had stood around the island in the kitchen, picking lightly as Enzo had cajoled her to eat a little more every time she stopped. It was clear from the faraway look in her eyes that she wasn’t seeing the kitchen, Klaus, or her friend. She had been stuck in her memories, unable to see anything but them.

He could admit that he was intrigued by whatever had happened to her. With a few discreet phone calls, he had been able to at least learn that Bonnie Bennett had died months ago and then returned. Allegedly, she had faked her own death for some reason or another, but Klaus knew better than all of that. Bonnie Bennett had indeed died months ago and somehow, she had been resurrected.

There was more to the story than simply a death and resurrection though. He could feel it with that sixth sense that was drawn to secrets that were not his. Something had happened beyond death and rebirth that had planted the haunted look in Bonnie’s eyes and the trembling in her hands whenever she thought no one was looking.

Klaus was very sure that she had no idea just how easy it was to tell that something had happened or that she was suffering. He knew the signs, having seen them in himself and countless others over his very long life. She was trying to hide it and sometimes, she was almost successful. But Klaus knew what to look for and how to see through the façade. She was not keeping it together very well.

She could barely fend for herself nowadays, that much was clear. Enzo forcing her to eat and then forcing her to sleep had been a surprise. Klaus’s first instincts when meeting new vampires tended to be correct and his first thoughts about Enzo was that he was self-seeking. But in the few hours that they had been in his home, Enzo had done whatever he could to ensure that Bonnie was taken care of, not taking more than scraps for himself.

This Enzo was overprotective, but he was also clearly capable of taking care of himself. Klaus had no doubt that the vampire had taken on the mission of being Bonnie’s supernatural nanny for some compelling reason though he honestly wasn’t sure what the vampire was getting out of it. Bonnie was caustic and sniped at everyone, but now it was ten times worse. And this Enzo just… took it in stride, shrugging it off.

If that vampire ever lost his temper with Bonnie, it would be an interesting set of fireworks to watch.

But Klaus didn’t think that Enzo would get that angry with the witch, no matter how often she made some cutting remark about him or to him. There was a connection there that he couldn’t quite put his fingers on. There was a bond between them that he couldn’t see and didn’t know the source of, but he was sure that it was there. He was also sure that the longer the two of them stayed in his domain, the more likely he would be to find out what the source of that connection was. And maybe find a way to exploit it should the need ever arise.

He had asked Elijah, before his brother had stormed off in a snit, to fetch as much information as he could about this Lorenzo vampire. Elijah may have been angry with him for having made what Elijah thought of as a rash decision, but he would do that much. After all, it wasn’t just a curiosity. This creature was now staying in his home and both Klaus and Elijah, no matter their differences, would do whatever it was necessary to keep the family safe from both known and unknown dangers.

Klaus turned back to the easel and realized that he was calm and rational again. He had been angry and annoyed with his brother, wanting to throw things in his rage. But he knew that giving in to temptation would serve no purpose. If he was going to throw a fit, then he wanted it to do something productive for him. Trashing his studio would be counterproductive.

Elijah and Rebekah never understood the lure of paint against canvas, the soft swish of a brush filled with eye catching color being manipulated to become whatever he wanted. It wasn’t simply the ability to create from his fingertips that drew Klaus repeatedly to the art studio. It was the solitude and peace that came along with it. And when he was surrounded in the lap of that solitude, he found it that much easier to plan and plot, to figure out his next steps.

This time, he had decided that his next steps for Caroline would be to meet her as a vampire without her humanity, as though he was meeting her for the first time. He would do his best to not compare the vampire of today with the vampire that he had passionately made love to in the woods for hours the day that Katherine died. He may not necessarily be fully successful on that score, but he would give it a try.

If he could determine her end goal about turning it off, then he could decide the best course of action to having her turn it back on. If she had done it simply because she couldn’t handle the death of her mother, then he most likely wouldn’t push heavily to have her turn it back on. A few weeks as a vampire without emotions wasn’t going to be enough time for her to come to grips with her mother’s death. Then again, nothing really would help that.

If she was simply doing it because life had become too much, because she was giving up so to speak and was the coward that Bonnie had accused her of being, then he would do everything in his power to force her to turn it back on. It would damage whatever relationship they would inevitably have, but he was sure that he could gain her trust back eventually. It would be for the best of course, and she would just have to deal with it.

But first, he had decided that he needed to meet Caroline without her humanity so that he could be sure that she was as dangerous as Bonnie had said. Bonnie had told them second hand accounts of whatever had happened and while Klaus had yet to see the police reports of the string of violence that Caroline had allegedly caused since turning off her humanity, he wanted to see first-hand what had happened.

Seventeen people injured and six dead… an image of Caroline doing all that damage was incongruous with the image of her he held deep in his heart. It was possible, of course, because they were all hunters, blood-thirsty hunters searching for the next heartbeat. But no matter how many times he repeated the sentence in his head, he couldn’t fathom Caroline killing anyone. Injuring, possibly. Killing? Not without reason, not without provocation.

A shout from the locked room wafted through the house, making him smile. She had finally woken from whatever spelled sleep she had been placed in and was ready to get out of her captivity. He couldn’t blame her. Having been captured a time or two himself, he wasn’t a fan of it either. Still, he made no move to hurry to do her bidding. She could stew for a bit longer while he washed up from the hours he had spent at the easel.

He sauntered down the hallway, whistling softly to himself as he moved toward Caroline. There was a little pep in his step and he couldn’t help but notice that he was looking forward to this first meeting with Caroline without her emotions. What could she possibly be like? Would he still feel drawn to her? Or would they clash terribly?

As he came closer to the door, the shouting quieted down and was replaced with pounding. He wasn’t sure what she thought she could accomplish with her fists. The whole room was under a special spell that the Regent of New Orleans had placed herself. There was nothing that could be done to that door that would cause it to open if someone didn’t have the key.

He pulled the key to her door from his pocket and with a flourish, slid the key home. As she heard the click of the lock, she quit pounding and stayed quiet. He opened the door slightly, waiting for her to make a dash for it. A second later, her fingers came around the wooden door, gripping it between her hands as tightly as possible. He couldn’t help but to be enchanted by the teal color sparkling on her nails.

When the door refused to give, Caroline yelled, “damn you, let me out of here!” A second later he wrested the door easily from her grip and pushed her back into the room. He heard her stumble back and trip over something, her breath whooshing out of her in a loud, “oof!” He slipped inside and shut the door before she could clamber back to her feet.

Caroline glared at him, her eyes snapping wildfire. “Of course, it’s you,” she said in disgust. “I should have realized that you had somehow managed to con Bonnie and Enzo into _kidnapping_ me so that you could darken my door step after _promising_ to leave me alone!”

“Oh, luv, I think you have that a bit backwards. You are, in fact, darkening my doorstep,” he assured her. Cheekily, he added, “Welcome to New Orleans, sweetheart. I always knew you would eventually make your way down here, though I do have to say that I had hoped it had been under different circumstances.”

She sped towards him until she was standing toe to toe with him. Her breathing was heavy as though she had just run a marathon. Her stormy blue eyes, shot him full of daggers. He found himself incapable of separating the beauty of the young vampire he had fallen in love with the beauty of the creature before him. It was only Caroline, truly, who had been willing to stand up to him time and time again on her own, without backup. And she was still just as willing it seemed.

“I don’t know how you managed to talk my best friend into stealing me away from my life, but you’re going to stop this now, Klaus. It’s not cute. It’s not endearing. It’s fucking illegal and damn creepy!”

Klaus studied her for a few moments more before casually turning his back on her, making sure she knew that he did not fear her or anything she could throw at him. “I believe that you are under the wrong assumption, sweetheart. Please let me enlighten you.” He turned back around and gestured toward the bed Elijah had deposited her in earlier.

With a sigh, she slumped over to the bed and sat down primly. “Happy now?” She demanded.

“Immensely,” he responded. With his hands clutched behind his back, he waltzed from one end of the room to the other as he spoke. “Bonnie took it upon herself to steal you away from your life, as you so eloquently put it. She felt that you were in trouble and needed my help. She thought it would be best if she took you to see me so that I could compel you to turn your humanity back on.”

Was that a hint of fear in her eyes? He wondered as he studied her casually. It was there and gone, but he was sure he had seen it. Even strong emotions like fear and rage could break through the seemingly emotionlessness of a vampire without their humanity switch turned on. When such strong emotions could poke through, it became that much harder for a vampire to retain their emotionless state. He was fairly certain that if he could force her into feeling something intensely, whether the emotion be negative like fear or a positive like love, he could lure her back from this precipice.

“Damn her,” Caroline muttered. After a moment, she snarled, “I don’t need any help. I promised myself a year. In one year, I’ll be back to the way Bonnie remembers me. I’ll be good and normal Caroline again. But right now, I _need_ this and I really don’t appreciate you or her or Enzo shoving yourselves into my personal decisions.”

Klaus shrugged. “The concern is that you have changed dramatically since you decided to turn your humanity off. You’ve hurt people, Caroline.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, who cares? So some people got hurt. What does it matter? I’m a damn vampire. Isn’t that what we do? And besides, I know you couldn’t care less about who I may or may not have hurt since I turned off my humanity. You rip throats out for fun and games, Klaus. Don’t sit there and try to act all high and mighty with me. I know you.”

Klaus quirked an eyebrow at her, offended at the implication. “Do you now?” He asked, his voice deadly soft. Since he had last seen her, he had been through so many things. At the heart of it, he wasn’t so different from the person she had known in Mystic Falls. But in reality, and something that his friends and family failed to see time and time again, he _had_ changed.

Part of that change was because of the blond vixen sitting in front of him. She had wormed her way into his heart, plucking and pulling until he found himself wanting to be a better man. It had started off simply enough: he wanted to be better for her. He wanted to be her last love, he wanted to be the human being she had once accused him of being.

After the birth of Hope and the overwhelming love he had felt for her, the need to protect her, he had realized that he didn’t simply want to be a better person for Caroline any longer. He wanted to be a better person for his daughter, to have her grow up in a world where enemies didn’t beset them on every side. And he knew that in order for that to happen, he had to change at least a little bit.

Deep within the darkness of his heart, a single flower had grown from the love and attention Caroline had bestowed upon him. Over the years, he had nurtured it unknowingly at first and then on purpose. With the birth of his daughter, it had grown that much more. He had indeed changed even if everyone was too blind to see it.

Caroline shook her head and muttered, “I just need a damn year. Elena turns off her humanity and it’s no big deal. It’s not like I’m a damn ripper.”

“There were dead in the list of injuries according to the litany Bonnie shared with me,” he interrupted.

“Shit happens,” Caroline quipped.

Klaus studied her, trying to reconnect to the person he knew. She refused to look at him, though. No matter how he tried to catch her eyes, she continued to peer down at the floor. “Murder doesn’t seem like you,” he said, hoping to entice her into revealing something, anything, she he could determine just what a threat she could be.

“I promised them all that I would behave for the year if they would let me do my thing. I wouldn’t kill while I just had _fun_ ,” she said finally. He could hear the irritation and frustration in her voice. He had little doubt now that if he pushed hard enough, her humanity switch would trigger. But he was also interested to hear what she had to say. He had never heard of a vampire making such a deal before. She looked up at him and said from between clenched teeth, “they broke the deal.”

“I see,” he said softly. It didn’t surprise him. The entire Mystic Falls gang, Caroline included, had a pathological need to save others. No matter the promises made, they invariably erred on the side of rescue than on leaving well enough alone. “Would you go back to that deal if I were the one to promise you that you could have your year?” She was silent as she pondered the gift he was offering her.

She swallowed heavily. “Would you truly give me the year?”

“I would have some conditions of course,” he assured her. She looked at him suspiciously, waiting for him to explain. “You would have to stay in New Orleans. You would not be able to seek revenge against either Bonnie or Enzo. They thought what they were doing was in your best interest.”

She smirked but gestured for him to continue. “You would not kill.”

“And what about some good old fashioned fun? Would you let me have fun?” She asked him. She slid her tongue across her upper lip after asking, quirking an eyebrow in his direction. He felt a thrill at the inference before he tamped it down. No matter how much he may be interested in what she was suggesting, he knew that he wouldn’t take her up on the offer.

“Oh, luv,” he said with a grin. “I would join you in that fun… if time permits.”

Caroline studied him carefully. “Do you promise that you won’t try to compel me into turning it back on?”

“Do you promise to help me against my enemies while you are here?” He countered.

She looked up at him in surprise. “Do you have a lot of enemies? Wait. What am I saying? Of _course_ you do. You have enemies coming out of every nook and cranny.” She rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. “Do I have to stay here with you?”

“I think that would be for the best. What with my enemies popping up unexpectedly after every turn,” he retorted.

She offered him a sweet and simple smile. It was too much like the sweet and simple smiles she had given him when she was happy. It reminded him of the grin on her face when he had arrived in Mystic Falls for her graduation, saving her hearing from a band of angry witches. The real Caroline was in there, deep inside. He wasn’t sure what had caused her to lose control and kill seemingly indiscriminately as Bonnie had inferred, but he had no doubt that he would find out.

And truthfully, it was always better to have as many hands on deck when the shit was getting ready to hit the fan.

“I accept,” she agreed. She stood up and turned toward the door. “This means that I can get out of this room, right? No offense, but whoever decorated this room really has no eye for it.”

“I will have you know that I personally decorated this room with the very intent of ensuring that it was as bland as possible. I didn’t need anyone falling in love with it and attempting to buy me out of my own home, unwilling to take no for an answer,” he quipped.

She giggled and it was like music to his ears. He fell into step beside her before saying seriously, “there are a great many things that have happened since last we saw one another Caroline. Humanity or no, we do need to catch up and I would appreciate it if you would join me for dinner.”

“Is this a fancy dinner? Or a private affair?” She looked back at him, her blond locks bouncing over her shoulder as she shot him a flirtatious grin.

He smiled back before answering, “Oh, I think it will be just the two of us.”

“I will need to go shopping then,” she said, looking down at her outfit with a grimace. “I’ll also need a shower and access to your entire hot water heater. I feel like I’ve been living in these clothes for months.” She shuddered as she took in her outfit a second time.

She opened the door with a sigh of relief, her eyes closed as she took in the scents and sounds of the compound. She looked back at him for a moment. “Thank you, Klaus,” she said quietly. “It means a lot to me that I can trust you.”

As she started down the hallway, he leaned against the doorway to watch her saunter away. “Caroline,” he called, pitching his voice to a tone of intimacy. She turned around to look back at him. “I was sorry to hear about your mother,” he said softly. “She was a good woman.”

She stiffened as if struck. “Thank you,” she replied.


	5. something just like this

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enzo and Bonnie take a break from the wide world for a few hours to recharge their batteries.

Enzo sat quietly in the chair beside Bonnie’s bureau, patiently waiting for her to wake up from her nap after eating breakfast. So far, she had been sleeping for almost two hours and not a furrowed brow in sight. He was hoping she would sleep for most of the day; she clearly needed the rest. Not only would it be good for her, but at least then he could continue to read through the book he had packed for her when he had been packing her things.

After going through her drawers and tossing whatever he found there in the bag, he had seen two paperbacks sitting on her night table. Without bothering to look at them, he had tossed them in, figuring that even if she didn’t have the time or inclination to read them, he could blow through them eventually. What he hadn’t been expecting was that they were both science fiction books instead of novels prepping for school. He never would have guessed that Bonnie was a sci-fi fan.

He also never would have guessed that he would be either. Sure, he read books. But he had never really given more than a passing glance at the big names of the genre when he was looking for something to pass the time. He was starting to rethink the approach. He was mesmerized by it; he couldn’t get enough.

Before he had even known it, he had been speed reading through chapter after chapter, following the shenanigans of a far future Earth and the upcoming war the main character was going to fight in. He could see himself in the main character in bits and pieces; Enzo wondered if Bonnie could too.

Their shared bond of having both been held captive against their will was like the elephant in the room. It was there, but they never highlighted on it. The conversations that had passed between them since she came back from the prison world had carefully danced around the fact that they both knew what torture was like and they both knew what it was like to pray for death. Bonnie’s confinement and torture was a drop in the bucket compared to his, but it was a link nonetheless.

He wondered often if she put up with him only because she, too, felt that tie. It was like a ribbon between the two of them. They could travel as far apart from one another as they needed, but at the end of the day, there was that connection there. He could feel it and sometimes, he thought he could see it. He didn’t think he was the only one either; he thought Bonnie could too but had never asked.

If he were honest with himself, which he occasionally could be, he was too scared to ask. He didn’t want to highlight their differences from the rest of the gang. He wanted to be able to fit in just like she did. It was easier to bury the horror of their past and not discuss it than it was to bring it to the fore.

And of course, this way, he never had to find out if he was imagining things.

Deep down, his biggest fear was that he would connect with someone again, like he had once done with Lily Salvatore, and find out that the connection wasn’t as real to them as it was to him. He couldn’t bear the thought of having to go through that again. It was the easiest way to keep himself safe. No one could leave him and hurt him if he didn’t care. Or if he did care, if he didn’t let them know that he cared.

He was fairly certain that he was doing a mediocre job at keeping himself an arm’s length away from Bonnie. They had too much in common. And he found himself enchanted by her. The fact that she had remained sane after all she had been through in the prison world? Amazing. The fact that she had come back ready to kick ass and take names? Awesome. The fact that she just poured him another glass of bourbon whenever he needed it most instead of getting on him about his drinking? Heaven.

He felt like he could be himself around her. That was a novel concept. Even with Lily, he had molded himself into something she could want instead of just being himself. He had done the same thing throughout his long years as a vampire. He had done the same thing back as a human, too. Anything he could do in order to connect with another person was what he would do in order to make that connection.

Now, though, he didn’t have to hide or pretend. When he made sarcastic remarks, she got it. She could keep up with him too and they would spend hours going back and forth, sarcasm and caustic retorts flung between them like snowballs. When he came in from a long, hard day of some stupid save-the-world plan, she just poured him another shot and let him absorb the day’s events.

He hoped that he had been able to provide the same level of comfort as she had provided to him. Deep down, he was pretty sure he hadn’t been particularly successful. It spoke more to the prevailing theory that Enzo would never be what someone else needed than anything else.

Bonnie twitched in her sleep and he glanced up to see if she would wake up or fall back down beneath the waves. She settled almost immediately, her breathing deep and even. She had curled around herself in the last two hours, her left arm curled up by her face so that her fingers brushed against her cheek. Her hair lay strewn across the pillow she was using.

She was beautiful when she slept. He had spent an inordinate amount of time watching her sleep, not just at that moment but in the weeks before. Their unlikely friendship meant that they often spent late nights together. Bonnie would fight sleep for as long as possible before finally succumbing, sometimes mid-conversation.

Before the nightmares would come and furrow her brow, her face had the look of a cherub. Angelic seemed like a term better left for artwork or children, but he could finally understand how it could be applied to people. Watching her sleep was a pastime that he had come to enjoy. He didn’t know when it had started, but now he could recognize the emotion in him: he liked to see her sleep.

Maybe it was simply because for a short while, the ghosts in her eyes were at bay. Maybe it was simple attraction. He could admit that Bonnie was a fine looking young woman and though he was careful to not fantasize about what _that_ would be like, he could admit that he wouldn’t say no if the subject ever came up.

He rapidly flipped to the next page, engrossed and entranced. He had to wonder what Bonnie felt when she was reading this story. The main character, a little boy whose life was catalogued as he grew up being formed into a weapon to be used against an alien menace, was more intelligent than most of the people around him. It was clear to Enzo that the kid felt like an alien himself. He could understand that completely, but the question was, did Bonnie?

He assumed she probably did.

The book was well worn and had clearly been read over and over again. The pages were all dog-eared in various places, the creases so common that most of the pages were bent permanently no matter how many times he smoothed the pages down. It was very clear to him that she had read this book so often that she probably had it memorized in spots. He wondered if he asked her to quote the book if she could do so. He had a sneaking suspicion she could.

He wasn’t sure what it said about Bonnie that she could feel a connection with the alien-feeling main character. Was it because of her magic and how that kept her apart from everyone? Was it something else? Based on how well-read the book was and how the pages were, he had to assume that Bonnie’s connection with the lead character started years back and had little to do with her time in the prison world. Then again, maybe not.

He pulled away from his absorption with the book when he heard the change in Bonnie’s breathing. A second later, her heart rate began to change and when he looked up, her eyes were cracking open against the dim light of her bedroom. He held the book in his hands, waiting to see if she would fully awaken or if she would fall back to sleep. It took her a few minutes to move from sleep to waking, but finally she opened her eyes.

Her gaze zoned in on his and she offered him a shy smile before saying, “Hi.” Her voice was hoarse with sleep. It was the usual greeting. If he stayed over and watched over her while she slept, he wound up nearby when she woke up. Her eyes would stutter into wakefulness and then she would tell him hi like it was no big thing.

He could admit that the familiarity of it made him feel something indescribable. He didn’t know what the feeling was, but that if he went a day without it, it seemed like everything was a little blander. The colors of the flowers didn’t seem as bright; the sunshine didn’t feel as warm. It was too strange for him and something he had never experienced before. He wasn’t sure what it was.

All he knew was that he needed the little ritual with her saying hi to him like it was no big thing in order to put a little more pep in his step.

“Hey,” he responded, setting the book face down on the bureau beside him. He stood up slowly and walked over to her, sitting down towards the foot of the bed so that she wouldn’t have to make room for him. “How did you sleep?”

“You’ll be happy to know that it is in fact very comfortable to sleep on this bed,” she assured him. “I can report confidently that sleeping on a cloud is in fact better than sitting on a cloud.”

He grinned at her before saying, “That’s good to know. I was a little concerned.”

She nodded back to the chair he had vacated before sitting down beside her. “Did you sit there this whole time I was sleeping?”

“I did,” he agreed. “I found an interesting book to keep me entertained.”

“You could have sat down on the bed so you didn’t have to sit in a chair that looks like a slightly padded version of a medieval torture device,” she said.

“I didn’t want to disturb you,” he said quickly, as he always did. She always told him that he didn’t have to sit on the floor or in an uncomfortable chair. She always reminded him that she had more than enough room for her and someone else on her bed. He didn’t want to breach that distance between them. He couldn’t understand why, but he didn’t want to go there.

Since becoming friends, Enzo could count on a single hand how many times they had slept side by side. In those instances, it had been a moment of weakness for Bonnie that had torn at him like a set of titanium covered claws.

A nightmare that wouldn’t fade out and he would come over, lay his hand on her or shake her awake depending on how bad the dream was. And in those moments, with adrenaline still pounding in her veins, she would ask him to hold her and he would.

Those days, he would try to slide away from her in the middle of the night so that he could sit on the floor or in a chair, but she would hold him tight like he mattered. It was painful in a way to be held that way. He didn’t want to cross that bridge any more than necessary. He had to keep his distance, but if he were to stop and ask himself why, he knew he wouldn’t have a real answer.

“So what were you reading today?” Bonnie asked. Too many mornings, she had woken up to find him nose deep in some book or another. Usually it was something he had on him. The looks of surprise and entertainment on her face when he told her what he was reading was just as enchanting as the angelic look to her when she slept. She had been particularly interested when he had shown her the cover for the _Complete Works of Lord Byron_.

“Actually, this is one of yours, luv,” he said. He leaned back against the footboard, resting his clasped hands against his torso. “When I was packing for our trip, I found two books on your bedside table. I tossed them in the bag. I figured if you didn’t have time to read them, then I would.

“I’ve got to say, Bon, I am very surprised by your interest in books. Science fiction?”

She grinned at him. “I’ve been in love with sci-fi since I was a kid. My dad, you know? He loved Heinlein and Cherryh and Herbert. When I younger, he would read some of the books to me. He edited some of them down. There’s a lot of math in Niven’s works, you know? And an eight-year-old isn’t going to understand all that.”

He whistled. “Wow, Bonnie. I don’t think I’ve seen this side of you before.”

“Still the same old me, Enzo,” she assured him with a laugh. “It’s just… when I was younger, it was this bond with my dad. He would read me these stories when I was sick and just talk to me for hours about what he had read to me. And then, when I got old enough to read the books on my own, I was already hooked. I just didn’t know it yet.

“And there’s so many worlds to explore. It’s not like here. In books, you can go to the farthest end of the universe if you want to. You can find books where the main character is an alien or maybe an entire alien race. Or you can find books where you’re in the head of a human being, trying to come to grips with the changes the galaxy is throwing at them. It’s just… it’s so amazing and varied and beautiful.”

Her soliloquy moved him. He couldn’t help but feel that indefinable feeling deep within. He wanted to hear more and beckoned for her to continue.

“I love sci-fi,” she told him. “There are a lot of newer authors out there now and there’s so much to choose from. No matter what mood I’m in, I can find a book that fits.”

“Well, I have to say that the next time we decide to watch a movie, we’ll find something with a little more space in and a little less notebooks,” he said. She grinned sweetly at him and his heart fluttered for a second. She had forced him to watch _The Notebook_ after both Elena and Caroline had bailed on movie night. He had been less than impressed. There wasn’t enough bloodshed he assured her.

“I don’t remember what I had out before we left. Which book are you reading?”

“Oh, I picked up _Ender’s Game_ ,” he said. “I have to tell you, Bon… there’s something about Ender that just…”

“Speaks to you?” She nodded emphatically before pushing herself up. She pulled her legs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. “Oh, yeah. I don’t know where you are in the book so I won’t say too much, but there’s always been something about him that really speaks to me on a personal level.”

“He feels like an alien in a human world,” he said immediately. He sat up, animated by the subject matter. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I’m only about a third of the way through, but I have to say that you’re right. He really does speak to me on a personal level.”

“That’s a whole big series,” she told him, her eyes sparkling. “There are so many books after the first one. They’re all pretty good. I’ve enjoyed every single one of them, but I always come back to that first book over and over again.”

“Considering the state of the pages, I kind of guessed that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, here we go. Go right ahead and tell me what a barbarian I am.”

“If you truly cared about your books, you wouldn’t dog ear the pages.” He launched into the conversation they had had when she found him looking for a bookmark one morning. He had been forced to tear a small sheet of notebook paper so that he could mark his page. She had laughed at the look of horror on his face when she had suggested folding down a corner of the page. “You’re clearing a monster doing that.”

“It’s better than having to rip up things so that I can keep my page marked,” she pointed out.

“Vampire though I may be, luv, I am no monster.”

She snorted at him before grabbing the pillow from behind her and tossing it at his head. Easily, he deflected the hit by grabbing the pillow from the air. Ever so gently, he lobbed it back at her and smacked her between the eyes. She slid to her knees, grabbed the pillow in bow hands, and walloped him back laughing.

Enzo smiled back at her, reaching for one of the other pillows on her bed as they entered into an impromptu pillow fight. Her shrieks of laughter were beautiful. She laughed with him and with her friends, but sometimes the joy on her face was so very clearly a mask. Not now. He could tell she was truly enjoying herself.

He could admit that he was too. He had never been in a pillow fight before, so this was a new experience. He enjoyed it though. It was carefree and simple. There were no worries or trials coming their way. There was no Caroline and her humanity problem; no Klaus and Elijah with their family drama; no Elena or Damon or Stefan or anything else. There was just simply the two of them having a private and joy-filled moment amid the chaos that had become their lives.

“Back, fiend,” he roared and hit her lightly across the shoulder with his weapon of choice.

Instead of aiming back at him, she pulled her pillow back and asked, “Do you know how to fence? I always kind of wanted to learn.”

“It’s rather b—” He began, but was cut off with a pillow to the face. When she pulled back for a second hit, he launched himself at her, hitting her across the head and legs with his pillow. He showed no mercy. When she was breathless from her laughter, he pulled back to a safe distance, waiting to see if she was finished. “Do you beg for mercy?” He demanded.

“I do, I do,” she gasped out. “I do.” She dropped her pillow and wiped the happy tears from her eyes. It took her a few moments more to get her breathing under control, but the grin on her face had made it all worth it. Even the unknown feeling that had somehow grown stronger in his chest, the feeling that scared him when he stopped long enough to think about it. “I am ever at your mercy, dear Enzo.”

Something about that adjective hit him hard. He had never been told that he was dear before. He didn’t know what to say so remained silent, keeping to himself as she recovered fully from their pillow fight. When she was calm again, she sighed and asked, “Do you think Caroline is up yet?”

“I think you shouldn’t worry about it,” Enzo countered. “We brought her here, luv, so that Klaus could help her. The beginning, middle, and end to your involvement was bringing her here and you’ve done that.”

“Yeah, but…”

“No,” he said forcefully. “This is no longer about Caroline. This is about you. You needed time away from the world at large. This is going to be your… vacation.”

“A vacation,” she asked deadpan.

“Yes,” he agreed.

She rolled her eyes. “Need I remind you that Klaus and Elijah both said there was a new big bad out there. And Klaus has a daughter. And apparently, this big bad is out to get her. And we’re in the middle of all that now.”

“Is this mystery aunt knocking on the front door?”

“Well… no,” she admitted.

“Then we will treat this as vacation until we are needed to do, well, whatever it is that you and I may end up doing when they go into battle with the aunt,” he replied. “So, in the meantime, since you are taking a break from worry and concern and fighting somebody else’s battles, what do you want to do on your vacation?”

Bonnie frowned deeply while she thought. “Well, I’ve never been to New Orleans before. I wouldn’t mind exploring.”

“As you wish, luv,” he said and got to his feet. “We will go out tonight to explore New Orleans. I’ll ask the locals where the best places to go are and we’ll go there.”

“But—”

“There are no buts here, Bonnie Bennett,” Enzo said forcefully. He leaned across the bed and pulled her to her feet easily. She looked up at him with wide green eyes. The ghosts he could so often see appeared to be sleeping still and for that, he was grateful. “We’re going out tonight to do what people on vacation do. We’ll drink some and go dancing and take in the sights and enjoy ourselves.”

“All right, all right,” she said, pulling her hands out of his. She went over to the bag that he had placed on the bureau after he had revealed that he had packed one for her. “If we’re going out though, I have to say that you had better have packed something worth wearing out in the world. If not, then I’m going to need to do some very quick and very thorough shopping.”

“Shopping is also, I hear, something people do on vacation,” he agreed. “I will see if I can find one of the lords of the manor so that I can get some recommendations for places for us to see and for places so that you can do what girls do and shop.”

He started toward the door. “While I’m seeing to that, you can go and take a relaxing bath in the bathroom you will be sharing with Caroline.” He pointed to the door opposite the one that connected his bedroom with hers. “I took a look in there earlier and it looks like something that someone on vacation should spend extra time in what with the whirlpool tub and all.”

“Tub?” Bonnie squealed. Before he could say anything else, she had taken off toward the bathroom. With each new shriek of delight, Enzo had to admit that the fear in his heart lessened considerably. Later, the ghosts might come back. And later still, she may have nightmares well into the night that meant he would sleep uncomfortably behind her as he had a number of times before. But at least right then, she sounded happy and carefree. She sounded like a complete person, not the line-drawing version she had been lately.

As he let himself out of her room, the pep in his step was unmistakable.


	6. doing something so hard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner is a minefield, fraught with too much uncertainty.

Caroline could admit that the shopping trip Klaus had organized for her was a complete blast. Since she hadn’t known where any of the important or decent shops were, Klaus had arranged a driver to take her from place to place. He had even stopped at one of the witch’s shops so that she could pick up a new bottle of vervaine since Bonnie and Enzo had needed to dry her out in order to allow Klaus and Elijah to compel her.

The one stop that had not been on the list, the driver had willingly taken her to as well. She had been mesmerized by the sheerest scarves sitting in the high end boutique. They had little constellations carefully sewn into the sheer navy blue fabric in a color that looked like a mix of gold and silver. She had been smitten with them and needed them like she needed air.

As she dropped her bags to the floor, looking around the room that Klaus had designated to be hers, she was glad she had bought the scarves. The bedroom that Klaus had chosen for her didn’t have enough pizzazz. It was a lot nicer than the room she had woken up in, but it still wasn’t the room she would have chosen. There wasn’t anything about the room that said it should have been hers. It just said that it was a guest room, ready to do what she needed it to do.

Well, she needed a lot from her room and just being there wasn’t it.

She immediately began unpacking her purchases, starting with the constellation scarves. She artfully threw them over the two table lamps that stood like two sentinels at attention on the nightstands beside the bed. She turned the lamps on to luxuriate in the light and wasn’t disappointed. It was seductive and comforting at the same time. And she was all about both of those things right now.

Putting away her new wardrobe was easy. Most of the things that needed to be hung up were already on hangers. She had bought a number of fine attire for evenings out or evenings in at a party the Originals may want to throw just in case. If she really needed a ball gown, she could always ask Klaus again, like she had the night of the prom.

The rest of her things had been impulse buys. Everything she had chosen was simply for her personal comfort. Slinky underwear, corset tops, and everything else that looked good on her and so made her feel good about herself. The humanity-filled Caroline would have gone with clothes that accentuated all of her assets, but were also comfortable. This Caroline had been more interested in whatever made her feel powerful, sexy, and beautiful. As she put everything away, she could admit that she had successfully created a wardrobe that a vampire without her humanity could appreciate.

And she hoped that she could at least use some of it to drive Klaus nuts. When he had come into her little prison room, she had been immediately aware of just how sexy he was. He had a body that wouldn’t quit and that smirk he had… well, it had always made her stomach flip nervously when he had turned it on her. She didn’t know what humanity-Caroline had ever been thinking when she had decided to try to stay as far away from him as possible.

And humanity-Caroline had slept with him! She wasn’t sure what the old her had over the alleged vampire king, but new Caroline was going to get a taste or seven if she had her way. There was no recriminations and no censure from her friends on the horizon. There was only her and Klaus, and yeah okay Bonnie and Enzo were around, but who cared? She certainly didn’t. She was going to seduce him if she could and scratch a few itches while she could.

The first stop before Project Seduce Klaus needed to begin was a shower. Though Klaus had said it had only been a day or two since she had been kidnapped by her alleged friends, she felt like she had been wearing the same clothes for weeks. They were grimy and disgusting and she was pretty sure there was a little blood on the strap of the black tank top she had been wearing from when she had snacked a little on one of the sales girls in one of the shops she had gone shopping in.

The clothes would just have to be burnt, she decided. There was absolutely no way she could save the top anyway with blood on it. There was no way to save clothes when blood stains set in. Humanity-Caroline had figured that out over the years and she could take the lesson to heart. She undressed in a matter of seconds, tossing the pants, underthings, and tank top into a pile on the floor.

She would keep the boots, she decided. They had been one of the first purchases she had made after turning off her humanity and they were the best investment. They were comfortable in all the right places and looked simply divine when paired with both skirts and pants outfits. They highlighted her long legs and they made her feel like a sexpot. In fact, she probably needed a second pair in a different color just in case. She made a note to buy a pair online when she found a laptop to use.

Caroline hadn’t had time to explore the room that Klaus had assigned her before she had gone on her whirlwind shopping spree. She loved to shop so she had wanted to get going as soon as possible. It helped that she didn’t have to spend her own money.

Klaus’s sister had accounts at each of the places his driver had taken her to and the sales people had all assured her that she could put whatever she wanted on the Mikaelson expense accounts. If Klaus wanted to take care of her, she could admit that making sure she could buy whatever she wanted was a good way to start.

She could admit that she was definitely materialistic when she had her humanity on and now it was a lot worse without it, but things were important. They showed you who a person was about at the end of the day. If they cared about what they wore and how they looked, then they probably were good people to eat. If they didn’t, well, they were only good enough for a little pick me up and don’t get too close just in case they smelled.

She went to the door on the opposite side of the walk-in closet and found that there was a decadent bathroom on the other side. Delighted, she looked around the room that was done in reddish tones. The walls were a color like decorative sand and the highlights were a soft grey, a brick red, and a color that was pinkish-white. There were plants everywhere and she had to wonder who got paid in this place to water them every day.

The tub across the entire back wall of the room was big enough for two people and there were whirlpool jets. There was a shower stall with glass doors and _three_ different shower heads. All of them were wide mouthed and would hit everywhere. The sink was one of those his and her sinks with more than enough space for all the new makeup supplies she had picked up. She paused at the curling iron that was already hanging up in a little bag beside the wall.

Frowning, she began pawing through the bag and found makeup that looked familiar. She opened up the mirrors and found two unopened toothbrushes and what looked like Bonnie’s face care regime taking up the entire top shelf. Frowning, she went to the door that was opposite the door she had just came in and had her suspicions confirmed: she was going to have to share a bathroom with Bonnie.

Her best friend’s unique witch scent peppered the air of the room she had stayed in. Some of her clothes were thrown across the blanket chest at the foot of the bed. Caroline wasn’t sure how to feel about this. She didn’t want to share a bathroom or even a doorway with Bonnie. She had _kidnapped_ her and for what? Just because some people had gotten hurt.

It wasn’t like she had meant to get people hurt. She hadn’t woken up that morning with the idea that she was just going to kill some local bystanders for breathing or anything. It wasn’t like Bonnie, or even Enzo for that matter, had asked before Enzo had snapped her neck while Bonnie distracted her. In fact, no one thought to ask _her_ what had happened. Then again, maybe they should have been asking Stefan, the bastard.

It had been his fault in every way. He had egged her on, knowing that she had no intention of killing people. Sure, she was going to feed live because bagged blood was just _disgusting_ ; what in the world had humanity-Caroline been thinking anyway? But she knew better than to keep going once you heard the heartbeat start to stutter. That was the cutoff point. Do not pass go; do not collect $200.

But then Stefan had started to play games and at first, they were kind of interesting in a way that she hadn’t really expected. And then, he had kept upping the ante and she just had to answer because she wasn’t a coward. She had forced him to turn off his humanity and she had been a little bored, she could admit it.

It was okay dancing and having one night stands and drinking from the vein and buying whatever she had in mind and going to classes and everything else. But she had been thinking about picking up and taking a few adventurous trips anyway. Maybe she would go to Boston or New York City. Maybe she would go to Paris or London. A girl could dream anyway, but Stefan had turned his humanity off because she had forced him to do it and she had been stuck with the mess she made.

An _interesting_ and _entertaining_ mess.

But then he had been annoying her and trying to get her to kill. She had done it because why not? It couldn’t hurt and she had kind of enjoyed the game where they tried to scare the bartender to death. When Tyler had hurt Matt, trying to kill her, she had felt something inside her trying to break free. She knew it was fear, but she had fled the room and her fear, deciding that she needed to just get the hell out of Dodge before her alleged friends tried something else.

If she had been left to her own devices without Stefan messing around with her head, then she probably would have managed to get through the whole year without killing somebody. She knew what control was and she had it. Even though she had wanted to know what it would be like to hold life and death in her hands, to know that she had complete control over whether or not someone lived to see the next morning, she hadn’t done it until Stefan had come along with his stupid little mind games.

Fuck Stefan.

Caroline eyeballed the tub as she shut the door to Bonnie’s room. She desperately wanted to take an hour long soak with her hair up, the scented candles that were artfully placed around the steps leading up to the tub lit and flickering. But she knew she didn’t have time. Klaus had said that their private dinner would be ready by six and it was close to five-thirty. When she wanted to shop, she could spend all day doing the dirty deed.

She quickly got ready for her dinner with the hybrid, spending longer than she intended on her makeup. Humanity-Caroline liked a sort of natural makeup look and when she was dressed up for something, she went only a little heavier. But now that she didn’t care about anything other than looking good and feeling good, Caroline had been exploring her options.

If she hadn’t needed to take a shower, she would have had the driver take her to the closest MAC store to have her makeup done. She wanted to look good for her private dinner with Klaus. She wanted to make sure that he knew she was completely available and she was going to use every single weapon she had in her arsenal to drive home that fact. That meant highlighting her eyes and pouty, yet kissable lips.

She dressed herself in her high-heeled boots with a scrap of fabric that purported to be a mini skirt. It was a deep, royal blue that matched the blue piping on the corset top she wore. She made sure to choose a necklace that would just graze the tops of her breasts, making sure to draw Klaus’s eyes to where she wanted them. There was something powerful about the art of seduction.

When she felt like she was ready, she headed down to the dining room. Klaus was already waiting, wearing his usual Henley shirt with dark jeans. His hair was tousled like he had just climbed out of bed and he wore his usual necklaces haphazardly. Yum, she had to take a bite of that. There was something delectable and naughty about sleeping with Klaus. Her body tingled every time she remembered their impromptu sex marathon back in the woods.

Just looking at him was enough to make her breath catch in her throat. He had charisma and it oozed from him in waves. He had that naughty boy kind of thing that drove all the girls crazy. She was one of those girls, of course, because there was something about the bad boy that just made you want to take a taste.

The problem with Klaus, as she had figured out after they had slept together, was that a single taste was never enough. Oh, it definitely wasn’t. She had pushed the memories of their time together down, down, and even further down. It had helped that her friends were all horrified by her actions. That gave humanity-Caroline the willpower to stop fantasizing about having him all to herself every damn day of her very long life.

Now, she didn’t want what humanity-Caroline had fantasized about: eternity with the one you loved. She wanted hard, exhaustive, hybrid sex. She wanted to feel him all over and with every fiber of her being. She wanted to be tossed around and turned into a pretzel. Just thinking about all the ways he could contort her body and all the ways she would contort his was a better aphrodisiac than blood.

“Hi, sexy,” she said, her voice pitched low and sultry. She looked up at him with the innocence that she could mimic even if she didn’t feel innocent at all. She felt powerful. “I hope you don’t mind that I’m a little late.”

He flashed that smirk – that damnable smirk – and gestured to the table that was set and waiting. “Of course not, luv. I do have a sister and I know that a woman will not be ready until she says she is.”

“Of course,” Caroline replied, annoyed at the mention of Rebekah. Sure, the Original could be fun and entertaining in a different way from Klaus. But she didn’t need the reminder that the blond still lived. She hated Rebekah with the same passion that Rebekah hated her.

Before, she had been concerned about it, wondering if Rebekah hated her because she didn’t think Caroline was good enough for her brother. Now, it just annoyed her. She was the best thing that had ever happened to Klaus; when the hell would Rebekah realize that?

As if Klaus knew what she was thinking, he grinned at her. The smile was that devil-may-care smile that made her toes curl. She was both intrigued and annoyed that it still worked as her toes curled in her boots. “Have a seat, sweetheart,” Klaus said, pulling the chair out to the left of his own.

She carefully situated herself in the chair, smoothing the tiny mini skirt down as he pushed her chair in like the gentleman he claimed to be. And he could be. She knew that. He hadn’t touched her before promising that he would walk away. He may have tried to kill her twice and had been pretty cross with her that one time that Silas had gotten into his head, but he did have some weird and twisted ways of proving he could in fact be a gentleman when he felt like it.

“I hope you enjoy the dinner I had them prepare for you,” he continued as he sat down beside her. “I had them make your chicken cordon bleu, as I recall you mentioning it was one of your favorites.” Caroline looked at him, wondering what the game was. There had to be a game here. That meal was her favorite because it was one of the few things her mom knew how to cook without burning down the house. She had done all the cooking at home.

“Right,” she said, trying not to show her unease. He hadn’t exactly said that he wouldn’t try to compel her humanity on. He also hadn’t said that he wouldn’t talk about her reasons or try to talk her into turning it back on under her own auspices. He had just said that he would give her the year she had asked for.

“So, Caroline, why don’t you fill me in on all that has happened in Mystic Falls? From what I have heard from your friend, Bonnie, and this… Enzo character, things have been quite busy in Virginia.”

She waved her hand away as someone in livery – a full on, actual servant in flipping livery, can you believe it? – came into the room with a tray. The servant set the tray down on a little tray table beside them and placed the first course of salad before them. He lifted the pitcher of water that had also been on his tray, filling the small water glasses by their table settings. The man disappeared before she could even pick up her fork to spear a thick cherry tomato and pop it into her mouth. Even without dressing, the salad was perfect. She knew it would be.

Once she had swallowed her tomato, she answered, “I’m not interested in talking about home,” she said firmly. “I’m sure Bonnie’s filled you in on all the important stuff and even if she hasn’t, she can tell you whatever you want to know.”

She took another bite of her salad before continuing. “My mother died; so what? I’m here and I fully intend on enjoying myself. Besides, this meal was _your_ idea so why don’t you fill me in on what’s been happening here. Sounded like you had some juicy tidbits to share.”

“There is a bit to tell you,” he agreed, as he leaned forward. He didn’t bother eating the salad, intent on watching her eat instead. “However, I want to know what you’ve been up to since last we met in Mystic Falls.” He gave her that sexy smile again, as if knowing full well what it was doing to her. If he didn’t knock it off, she was going to throw the carefully set table aside and take him right then and there.

“Oh, nothing’s really changed anyway,” she bitched. “It’s all the same very day. We wake up, we have to save the world, we sometimes kill one another in the saving, and then we go to bed.” She waved her hand dismissively. “I mean, it’s the same damn shit you remember from when you were there. Why do you even care anyway?”

“Obviously, things aren’t the exact same. This Enzo character… who is he?”

“He’s a vampire that Damon knew.” She continued to eat, waiting for him to question her further. She liked Enzo, even in her current state. He called her cute little names and he was someone she could rely on. Even when he was being a complete pain in the ass, like he had been when he snapped her neck for Bonnie, you always knew where you stood with him. Plus the nicknames made her feel pretty sometimes.

“And so, he decided to join your band of merry men?”

“Merry men _and women_ ,” Caroline snarked. “I mean, come on, Klaus. I know that you are ten thousand years old, but you can at least pretend to get with the times once in a while. This isn’t the age of men this and men that. Embrace your feminism or get steam rolled by it.”

Klaus laughed and it was music to her ears. A part of her that she hadn’t realized was wound tight relaxed. Klaus found her entertaining; he always had. That probably wasn’t the whole reason he was in love with her, but being able to laugh with someone you cared about was pretty important to most people and she was pretty sure it was important to him.

She hadn’t really been sure if the Caroline she was today, the one without her humanity, would still be able to make him laugh. The fact that she could said a lot. It also meant that she more than likely had a chance of maneuvering him into her bed.

 “And are there any other new faces that I should know about?”

“Not really,” she said. “We’ve either killed them or they’ve moved on with their lives. Oh, well, that’s not true. Ric is with a witch who doesn’t practice anymore. She’s okay. And then they’re going to get married or something. Whatever.” She shrugged. “She has this twin brother who is just a complete pain in the ass, but he’s like 15 or something. It’s so annoying.

“I want magic this and I deserve better that.” She rolled her eyes as she continued to eat her salad, periodically taking sips of water. “I mean, who the hell cares? You got a raw deal. Either do something about it or quit whining, am I right?” She rolled her eyes again. “He’s kind of cute but only if you keep him quiet because otherwise he will just bitch and bitch and _bitch_ about how horrible his life is.

“Like the rest of us don’t have lives that could be better?” She gestured to herself. “I mean, hello? My mom died so.” She stopped talking, looking down at the plate in front of her. Every time her mother came up, she could feel it start to hit. She always had to shove it aside. She got it; strong emotions and all of that. But honestly, it was getting old. She wanted to have fun.

“Anyway, that’s what’s new in Mystic Falls. Tell me your stuff,” she said finally. She finished the last cucumber in her salad before setting her salad fork down. “You said you had a lot to share so you may as well start.”

Klaus was watching her carefully, almost calculatedly. She knew what he was thinking: that he could probably flip her switch. She realized she would have to come up with a way to ensure he didn’t push her. She didn’t want to be pushed. Then again, she could remind him that her friends had promised to leave her alone for a year while she went off and did her thing without her humanity and look what had happened there.

She realized she would have to think about it. She was an excellent planner and she knew it. If she put her mind to it, she was pretty sure she could get Klaus to back off on all of this. She just had to figure out what buttons she had to push. Of course, this being Klaus… he would probably find a way to maneuver around her own carefully laid plans.

She would have to think long and hard about it.

“Where shall I begin?”

“The beginning?” She asked sarcastically.

He offered her a vague smile before his face turned thoughtful. As she ate the salad and watched him think, she couldn’t help but feel more and more ill-at-ease. The micro expressions that came and went on his face were like signposts. She knew that whatever things he had to say, she probably wouldn’t like them. Klaus didn’t usually find himself reticent to say anything about anything. The fact that he seemed to be made it clear that she probably wasn’t going to like half of what he said.

She had tried to get some information out of the witch at the little shop they had stopped at for her vervaine supply. She wanted to know what the supernatural world was like in New Orleans. But the witch, while willing enough to sell her a bottle of vervaine, had not in fact been willing to tell her a damn thing. If she hadn’t been in a rush to get back and get ready, and if the witch hadn’t been on vervaine, Caroline might have hung around to get her to talk. But since Klaus was going to tell her eventually, it didn’t seem like it really mattered.

Klaus finally looked at her and opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, the waiter reappeared with the next course. This time, he appeared with the main course. He whisked her partially eaten salad and Klaus’s uneaten salad away before setting her plate down before her. Instead of disappearing back the way he had come, the waiter glanced at Klaus. Klaus leaned forward, carefully took the man’s hand in his, and sliced his wrist over the empty crystal goblets in front of them.

When their cups were partially full, he released the waiter and sent him scurrying back the way he had come. Caroline immediately lifted the glass, scenting the bouquet of the man’s B-positive. It was her favorite flavor. She took an exploratory sip and was gratified to find the blood untainted. It was delightful. She hoped it complimented the chicken she was about to dig into.

While she began to eat, Klaus finally said, “A few months after moving back to New Orleans, I found out that I was going to have a daughter.” Caroline nearly choked on the piece of chicken in her mouth as she swallowed it and it went down the wrong way. She grabbed her water as Klaus pushed to his feet, concern littering his face. She waved him off as she drank down her entire glass to wash her dinner down.

“What?” She asked, her voice hoarse from the choking fit. “How is that even possible?”

“I had a very similar reaction upon learning it,” he agreed. “The witches said it was one of nature’s loopholes.” He shrugged. “I thought I would start there because that is the most salient change in my life, luv. I am now a father.”

“And how is that going for you?” Caroline asked. She felt uncomfortable with the idea that the bad boy could be a daddy. Bad boys were supposed to be single, young, pretty boys who could excite you in all the right ways and definitely did _not_ have to stop turning you on so that they could change a damn diaper on their screaming infant.

Klaus offered her a faint smile. There was something in that smile that spoke to her on a level she couldn’t quite understand. She could see the joy in his eyes; he liked being a father so to speak. But there was something else. It wasn’t quite sadness or anger. Something that looked bittersweet. Perhaps a hint of misery mixed in with joy.

“I love my daughter,” Klaus said finally. “I would do anything in this world to protect her.”

“Even from yourself?” She quipped. He didn’t answer, watching her instead as she continued to eat the meal he had had someone prepare for her. “Look, Klaus, I’m sure being a daddy is all fun and games, but let’s be real here. I mean, you’re not exactly father of the year material, are you?”

She watched as a tic started in his cheek as he ground his teeth together, glaring at her. She had hit on something, but she wasn’t sure what. The look in his eyes was the deadly hybrid glare he had tossed her way when she lay dying at his feet in Elena’s living room. The memory was vivid and left her breathless. Fighting against it, she said the first thing that came to mind, something to hurt him the way he had hurt her.

“You kill anything and everything whenever you want to and that’s good. It gets you what you want, right?” She grinned impishly at him, implying a whole host of other things with that smile. The thrill of the hunt, the power that feeding on human life could give. “But at the end of the day, you are the most feared thing in the supernatural world nowadays and being a daddy just isn’t part of all that you’ve built up over the years.”

“Hope is the most important thing in my life, Caroline,” Klaus said softly. His voice was deadly. “I would in fact do everything in my power to keep her safe from everyone and everything. As I said to you, things have changed. My world has changed.” His gaze seared her. “I want you to understand that.”

Caroline realized then that she had stepped into something she didn’t understand. She sat back in her chair, her eyes glued to his face as she tried to think rationally about what it was that she had waltzed into without realizing until it was too late.

It came to her a few seconds later. She knew Klaus well, probably better than he knew himself. Sure, it was weird now that they had this connection since, she assured herself that she didn’t actually care. But that was it. He was telling her without telling her that he had changed. She was intrigued at the prospect. Just how had he changed? She pushed her curiosity down.

She didn’t want to think about it. Maybe if she had still been in full possession of her humanity, she would have thought about it. She would have tried to figure out what he was really trying to say. But she didn’t want to go there, seemingly knowing that it would only end up with her turning her humanity back on probably accidentally but maybe even on purpose and that wasn’t what she wanted for herself.

She reminded herself that she hadn’t wanted to come here. Even when she had decided to flip the switch, she had thought for a brief moment of running to Klaus when things were hard, when she was grieving. The thought had been one of those humanity-Caroline thoughts that came and went:

She could see herself arriving on his doorstep, tortured by the knowledge that her mother had died and she hadn’t been there to hold her hand, to wish her farewell before she had gone. It had been her fault that her mother had died anyway. Maybe Klaus would have taken her into his arms and held her while she cried. Maybe he would have distracted her with whatever he could distract her with. Maybe they would have fallen in love and lived happily ever after (yeah right).

So instead, she had turned to Stefan, hoping for a reprieve from the sorrow that had been almost overwhelming. He had tossed her away instead and she had been hurt.

She had known before she decided to turn off her humanity that running to Klaus would have been a mistake and nothing she fantasized about would have happened. The grief would have followed her and she had no idea what she would be walking into. She had wanted someone to save her from herself, from her grief, and from her guilt. Klaus was, oddly enough, the first person she had considered to help her with Stefan the next best thing. But instead her friend had had decided she wasn’t worth saving.

No, that wasn’t right. She had wanted someone who loved her and held her and cherished her to make things better. Klaus had made it seem like he could do all those things, but she couldn’t be sure. She knew Stefan could do those things, too, but they didn’t really feel that way about each other, hot emotion-less vampire sex notwithstanding. Before she had flipped the switch, she had realized that the only person who could really do all those things was herself. And that had been too much.

On top of everything else, the realization that she needed to save herself in her time of need had just about broken her in two and she had decided the switch had to be flipped. She wasn’t going to deal with any of that shit when she was in the middle of grieving for her mother, or better yet, never.

So she had flipped the switch and been kidnapped by her very best friend and her good friend to be brought to the one place she had, for a split second, considered running to. After she had turned emotionless, she had carefully decided that she wouldn’t go to New Orleans as she was without her humanity. Klaus might have decided that he needed to fix her or compel her because he wanted the Caroline he had fallen in love with in Mystic Falls, not the creature that was all about blowing off steam and enjoying her vampire life to its fullest.

“Right,” she said, glossing over everything he had said. A part of her wanted to pick it apart, but the part that wanted to do that was the part that gave a shit. She looked up at him and said, “So, baby Hope. You’re a dad. Do I say congratulations then?”

“If you wish,” he said. He was still frosty. Whatever poking and prodding she had done had wounded him or something. He was acting weird and whatever interest she had in trying to seduce him disappeared. Now she just wanted to go out and have fun. This talk was too much for her to handle when she didn’t have emotions. It was like walking in someone else’s emotional mine field and no one had bothered to make a map where all the bombs were hiding.

“So congrats, I guess,” she said as she began pushing the food on her plate around. A part of her wanted to know more. She wanted to know what Hope looked like. She wanted to know how the rest of the Mikaelson clan was doing with this new thing in their lives. She wanted to know what the vampire world in New Orleans and elsewhere thought of the hybrid having a kid. She wanted to know so much and as she realized she wanted to know, she realized that somehow, she cared.

She was moody and silent. She wanted to not have to talk about serious things and all of this was just too serious. It was a total buzzkill. “Well, I think we’re pretty caught up, don’t you?” She demanded. She pushed her plate away and finished off the blood in her goblet. She leaned an elbow against the table and asked, “Do you know where a girl can go out and have a good time?”

“Sweetheart, you’re in New Orleans. This entire town is a good time. Haven’t you ever heard the phrase ‘ _laissez le bon temps rouler_ ’?” he responded. She was glad he had answered the face of the question instead of what she really meant: _this is too much to handle for someone without emotions and I’m not going to be a part of this because it’s hitting too damn close to something that hurts_.

“No,” she answered. “What’s that mean? I didn’t take French in school.”

“It means ‘let the good times roll’ and tells you exactly what it means to be staying in New Orleans, no?” She grinned at him. “So, if you are finished with your supper, perhaps you will let me show you around town?”

“Of course,” she squealed delighted at the prospect. The last time she had honestly had fun was when she went to the rave and made out with that doctor fellow. After that, things had gone pretty downhill. She wanted to feel the press of bodies as she danced into the night and heart their heartbeats smother her with the sound of their own vitality. “Should I change though?” She asked, as she slid out of her chair.

She did a little pirouette turn, making sure that he caught a full glimpse of the smooth and creamy thigh between skirt and knee-high boots. She also did a small curtsy, making sure to bend just enough so that his gaze turned to her cleavage where the tip of the cute little heart pendant grazed as she moved.

When she looked up, she caught the look of desire hiding in his eyes. She smiled, knowing that she could still catch him in her snares if she wanted to. She licked her lips enticingly because she definitely wanted to. “Oh, I think you look just fine, luv,” he murmured. His gaze seared her and made her feel better.

She felt pretty and wanted and maybe, just maybe the night would end with the two of them together.


	7. everything’s gonna be fine one day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie finally remembers what it's like to relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: suicide mention.

Bonnie could admit that sometimes, Enzo had good ideas. The shopping spree that she had been forced to go on since Enzo had been packing things willy-nilly instead of keeping outfits in mind had been a blast. Klaus had a personal chauffeur take the two of them to a number of overpriced shops. He even paid for her things. Keeping in mind that her credit card wasn’t footing the bill, she bought less than she wanted to. Enzo remarked that shopping seemed to have given her more energy than a cup of coffee.

Before they had gone out on their tourist exploration of the city, she had changed into a pair of shorts with a shimmery halter top. Enzo had laughed at her as she tied her gladiator sandals on, remarking that her feet would be killing her by night’s end. She had quipped that it was a good thing he was so good at piggy back rides if the need arose. He had gallantly offered her a quick trip downstairs before they had vanished into the crowds surrounding the Originals’ compound.

She had assumed that she would immediately want to turn back around, to hide in the dim lighting that made up the courtyard. But as Enzo dragged her forward into the foot traffic, she realized that she didn’t feel like she was going to break into tiny pieces. She hadn’t been able to handle crowds since coming back from her solitude in the prison world at all, but for some reason, the feeling like she was going to explode was missing.

She couldn’t choose what they should see first. She kept waffling. She wanted to go on tours through the Garden District, the Audubon Aquarium, the St. Louis Cathedral, the various cemeteries, and everything else. It was Enzo who had chosen the cathedral as their first stop. He had always had a thing for gothic cathedrals.

The place was gorgeous and more than once, she found herself subdued by the beauty of it. She had never been Catholic and neither had Enzo, but they were both clearly affected by the cathedral. On their way out, Enzo bought her a birthstone rosary that took her breath away. The amethyst stones were beautiful. She bought him a bookmark with an image of the cathedral on it and then added a pair of fleur-de-lis earrings to the pile.

Afterward, she was still just as unable to make a decision on what to explore next. Enzo had pulled her in the direction of the French Market and she had been hooked by it. There were vendors with everything there. There were places to stop to eat or drink and music perfuming the air beside the scents of incense. Enzo forced her to try a po-boy sometime in the afternoon and she thought she was ruined for life.

As they walked, she caught glimpses of witches here and there. She was enchanted by the openness of it all and thrilled to see others like her. They were friendly enough, but kept a distance between themselves and Bonnie. She didn’t mind; she could understand the nervousness a witch would have when an unknown witch entered their territory. She always felt the same when a new witch showed up in Mystic Falls.

“There are witches everywhere,” Bonnie murmured quietly to Enzo as they strolled arm in arm down the market.

“I’ve noticed,” Enzo remarked. He glanced around for a moment before adding, “They seem to be keeping an eye on us.”

“New vampire and a new witch? Maybe we’ll be the talk of the town,” she said with a laugh. She didn’t know much of anything about the supernatural community but with the Originals running the show, she didn’t think she merited much of a second glance. Enzo either. The two of them were drops in the bucket compared to everyone else who called New Orleans home.

She was too jazzed up to feel the pain in her feet as the sun began to set. They moved out of the market and down the legendary streets where jazz musicians performed. The crowds grew thicker if it was even possible as the night life began to wake up. People walked from bar to bar, crawling back and forth between places. When the sun had officially set, Enzo dragged her into an oyster bar where they slurped back oysters until she assured him she was too full to continue.

Enzo dragged her to a bar not that far away from the compound where there were people singing karaoke and a no-nonsense blond taking care of the drinks. Enzo ordered a bourbon for himself and a soda for her since she was still doing her best to stay sober after her last blackout. They sat at a table to people watch, commenting on what they thought the people in the bar were doing there.

When Enzo got up to get himself another glass of bourbon, she sat back in the booth and let out a contended sigh. She knew she had needed all of this and she was grateful to Enzo for forcing the point.

After coming back from the prison world, she had been tossed into the next supernatural drama that seemed to pop up in Mystic Falls. She had never had time to decompress, to get back in touch with herself. It was just the next roller coaster ride after the next roller coaster ride. There was never any time to take care of herself and she knew that, partially, she had allowed it to happen.

If she had been seriously concerned about her own mental health, she would have pulled back from the drama. She would have taken the time she needed. But after bringing back Lily from the 1903 prison world and watching Enzo destroy himself a little at a time because she no longer cared about him the way that he cared about her, she had known that he needed her as much as she needed him. She didn’t have time to take a break when someone else needed her to help them.

And now, Caroline needed her help whether she realized it or not. It was the same thing all over again. The only difference this time was that she knew she didn’t know how to help her best friend. She only knew that Caroline needed help the same way that Bonnie did. The problem was that finding that help was impossible with the whirlwind that overtook their lives.

And now, she was finding the help that Caroline needed while also taking a time out. Sure, Enzo had forced the time out on her, but this was precisely what she needed. She needed to take time to enjoy the world again. She had been out of it for so long – to be fair, even before she had been dragged to Kai’s prison world.

It was hard to be a part of the living when you were the cornerstone for the Other Side, constantly interacting with the supernatural creatures that had died and needed entry into the Other Side. Living her life or even interacting with her life had won second place over and over again when the supernatural needs and wants of the creatures’ deaths had overshadowed everything else.

She closed her eyes and let the beat of the song that someone was doing a very bad job of singing clear out her thoughts. _Don’t Stop Believing_ was one of those songs that usually made her smile, but the horrifying rendition was just enough to make her grimace. Whoever was up on stage either wasn’t drunk enough to do it justice or they just didn’t know how to sing.

When she opened her eyes, she almost jumped out of her chair to see an unknown man sitting across from her. He had dark, piercing eyes and he was wearing a black jacket with a white shirt. His pointed chin gave him a hound dog sort of look. The glitter in his eyes was calculating. The power emanating from this creature was incredible. She looked around, trying to be surreptitious in her attempt to find Enzo.

“Your pet vampire went out for a little snack,” the man said quietly. His voice held no accent; his words were bit out between his lips in a crisp and clear voice. “He’ll be a few minutes more, I’m sure. That should give us more than enough time to chat.” He pierced her with his dark eyes and she opened her mouth to speak, but found herself unable to do so. “Who are you?”

Her seeming paralysis broke. “Who are you?” She demanded back, not willing to give an inch to this unknown man. Powerful though he may be, she was sure she could more than hold her own against him. On the other hand, she didn’t want to get dragged into a witch battle right here and now with this stranger.

The man smiled at her, seemingly enjoying her verve. “My name is Vincent Griffith,” he said and offered her a partial bow from his seat. “The Regent has heard that a new witch is in her territory, a witch who has not asked for permission to be here. She thought that it would be best if I find you and explain the process here.”

“I… didn’t know there was a process to this,” Bonnie admitted. “There isn’t a coven where I’m from, so I didn’t realize.” She tried to wrap her head around the idea that there was a regent of witches in New Orleans. She also tried to understand why Klaus or Elijah wouldn’t have warned her. If the witches were organized enough to require a regent to oversee them all, then surely they were organized enough to require a meeting if a new witch entered their territory. “I’m sorry for showing up unannounced.”

She took a deep breath and said finally, “I’m Bonnie.”

She decided against giving her surname, knowing that any witch would recognize it once she admitted who she was. Even without it, she caught the glimmer of interest in his eyes before they turned back to hard, calculating stones. Bonnie began revising whether or not she could truly hold her own against this creature. He frightened her and she wasn’t sure why.

“We noticed that you have been staying with the Originals. They don’t respect the witches here and they most likely didn’t consider the fact that you would need permission to be in this territory.” Vincent cocked his head to the side, drinking her in. “You will need to meet with the Regent tomorrow afternoon.” He slid a card across the table, which she picked up.

There was a single address written on the thick cardstock. “Will she allow me to stay?” She asked, feigning timidity in the question. She wasn’t going to leave, no matter who told her she couldn’t stay. That might make her life harder in the Quarter, but she would be damned if she left Caroline alone to deal with Klaus and whatever supernatural mess he was in the middle of. If that meant she had to take on a coven, then that’s what she would do.

“That’s up to her,” Vincent answered. “She’ll make a decision after meeting you. Come by for four o’clock. And don’t bring your pet vampire with you. We don’t like vampires. If you show up with one, then you’re going to be shown the door without even getting to meet her.” Vincent stood up and began to move away.

Bonnie reached out and touched his hand. A spark flicked between the two of them, electricity flowing between them. Bonnie pulled her hand away with a grimace. She hadn’t expected her magic to interact with his. Their eyes met again and he nodded back at her before disappearing into the crowd.

She let out her held breath, trying to figure out what she had learned from that second of skin contact. She had been right; he was a powerful creature. She wondered how powerful the Regent would need to be if she had witches like him in her arsenal. She also had sensed that he was intrigued by her and that he had a sneaking suspicion that she was a Bennett witch.

She realized then that she needed to learn more about covens across the country. She knew a little bit about the Gemini coven because Jo was with Alaric and some of the supernatural melodrama was related to her coven. But beyond learning that there were covens across the nation, she didn’t know much about them. She should have researched the witch scene in New Orleans, she realized, before she bothered to come down here with Caroline. She could have at least been prepared.

She probably wouldn’t have gone through this stupid meeting with the Regent, though. Maybe a quick phone call meeting, but that would have been it. While she understood that the leader of a local coven needed to know when new witches popped up, she wasn’t interested in the do-si-do that was going to go into it. And that’s exactly what it was. It was a stupid dance, nothing more.

It was just a way to measure up the new person in their territory and a lot of ridiculous posturing. If the new person was powerful, then they wouldn’t necessarily get a pass. If they weren’t, then they’d be allowed free reign. She understood the necessity of it, but that didn’t mean that she wanted to play the game. She didn’t care who the hell came into her territory as long as they left her alone. If they caused a problem, then she’d send them packing. That didn’t mean she had to like it though.

Enzo came back then with a frown on his face. His cheeks were a little pinker; he had a healthy glow. “Are you all right, luv?” He asked as he sat down in Vincent’s vacated seat.

“I’m fine,” she assured him, taking a sip of her soda. “I just met one of the local witches though. Looks like I have a meeting with the local head honcho tomorrow.” She rolled her eyes as she slid the business card across the table to him. “I’m so looking forward to the bullshit that comes from this meeting.”

“No worries, luv,” Enzo said, pocketing the card after glancing at the address. “I’ll go with you to make sure it all goes smooth.”

“Sorry, you can’t,” Bonnie said, truly apologetic. There was nothing quite like having a vampire in your arsenal when the need arose. “I’ve already been assured that if I bring my ‘pet vampire’ along with me, I won’t get a free pass to hang out in New Orleans.”

Enzo scowled. “Well, I certainly don’t like that,” he said. “I am not your ‘pet vampire’. We’re friends. Why don’t people get that?”

Bonnie laughed, as he had wanted her to. “I don’t know, Enzo. I think ‘pet vampire’ has a really nice ring to it. It says all the things about our relationship that are too complicated to spell out.” He made a face. “But seriously, I appreciate the offer. I wish I could bring you with me. But it looks like I need to do this one on my own.”

She took another sip of her soda. “But what I really don’t understand is why Klaus or Elijah didn’t think this would come up? The witch who was here with my invitation seemed to think it’s because they don’t respect the local witches. But honestly, if even a quarter of the locals are as powerful as the guy who just showed up here? They had better start respecting them.”

“That scary?” Enzo asked, taking a sip of his fresh bourbon.

“I wouldn’t say scary,” Bonnie admitted. “I would say powerful, which is what I said.” She looked around the bar thoughtfully, trying to get her thoughts in order. “It’s like what you said when we came here with Caroline. You said that I can be pretty frightening when I throw down a spell, right?” He nodded. “He was like that.

“I touched him for a moment and our magic kind of sparked: like recognizing like. He is really, really powerful. I’m pretty sure he could have done any of those resurrection spells I’ve done over the years and you know, _not_ died as fallout from them.” She shuddered at the thought. “So, like I said, if it comes down to it, the Originals are making a huge mistake by not taking the locals seriously.”

They were quiet for a few minutes while Enzo digested what she had said and she tried to figure out what would be appropriate attire to meet with a regent. Finally, Enzo spoke, “Do you think we should leave then?”

“Oh, no,” Bonnie assured him. “I think it would be a very good idea to meet and greet with the locals. I mean, think about it. With all of the nonsense we’ve been through back home in the last few years, it would be really awesome to know more than just a few of the Gemini witches, right?”

“I suppose,” Enzo agreed.

Bonnie could tell that this was something he wasn’t sure about. “Look, let’s not worry about it. We’re supposed to be on vacation. So let’s just… vacation.” She pulled the book of songs back towards her and began perusing the selection. “Maybe it’s time you got up there and sang for me.”

“What?” Enzo demanded, scandalized. “I don’t think so.”

“You know how to sing,” Bonnie pointed out with a small, sweet smile. “I’ve heard you singing in the shower and you sometimes sing when you’re playing my guitar. So, yeah I think you need to get up there and belt something out for me.” She stopped at the B section. “Pat Benatar? Backstreet Boys?”

“I will have you know that if you are going to force me into this farce, Bonnie Bennett, then you had better choose a song that does justice to my singing voice.” She rolled her eyes and kept poking around the little book, trying to figure out what she wanted to hear.

“What about Frank Sinatra? You’re old enough—”

“If you finish that sentence, I will be forced to do something drastic,” he pointed out.

Laughing, Bonnie continued to poke around for something that she felt was appropriate to the mood. They were both relaxed and, no matter what came tomorrow, they were enjoying themselves. She began scanning the songs again, sliding her fingers over the name. Before she could poke fun with another ridiculous choice, Enzo snatched the booklet away from her.

“Ah,” he said, keeping the book away from her so that she couldn’t see what he had found. “I think I may have found something…”

“Well, what is it?” She demanded.

“This is a surprise,” he answered. He closed the book and stood back up. “I’m not going to tell you. You can be shocked and amazed when I get up there.” He began to walk towards the stage but paused. “I will have you know that while I am doing this for you because you want to hear me sing, I will get you back for this. You may in fact get signed up for a song and you will get up there and sing it for me.”

“Oh, no,” Bonnie told him. “I don’t sing and I am not going to get started being the only sober person in a crowd of drunks.”

“You started this,” he reminded her before walking away. Bonnie grinned at him, watching as he selected his song. There was a small line ahead of him. He compelled his way to be next in line, grinning back at her as she watched him do it.

While she watched him select his song, she felt a frisson of power shiver down her spine. Surreptitiously, she pulled her gaze away from Enzo to take in the crowd. She felt as though she was being watched, as if someone or something powerful had come into the bar and was keeping their eye on her. She tried to figure out who it was, but the bar was too crowded for her senses to hone in on whoever was watching her.

She shuddered under the force of the power she sensed. Whatever it was, it made a mockery of her power and of Vincent’s. It was something stronger than both of their magic combined. Uncomfortable with the scrutiny, she cracked her neck and tried to find it again. But as she began to hunt through the sweat-soaked bodies, looking for whoever was watching her, the feeling faded rapidly.

She blinked, trying to figure out whatever it was that had focused on her. Was it something here or was it something faraway? She hadn’t been able to get anything except that she felt watched.

Enzo turned around to glance at her and a frown flitted across his brow. He made a move as though to come back towards their table. She didn’t want to interrupt the good time they were having with dark tales. She wanted to watch him sing for her. She forced a smile in his direction and a little wave. His shoulders relaxed and he looked back at the stage, waiting for the person up there to finish their number so that he could begin.

Bonnie reached up and rubbed the tension out of her neck to the best of her ability. She knew she would have to tell Enzo what had happened. He had seen something on her face, some telltale sign that perhaps not everything was okay. He always knew when something was happening beneath the surface where she was concerned. He always knew in a way that, if she didn’t know anymore, she would assume he had a hint of psychic ability about him.

The person ahead of him finally finished their rendition of a Brittany Spears song and relinquished the microphone. Enzo got up on stage. His gaze swept the crowd before he found her curious gaze on him. With eyes locked, a gentle piano began to place and then he sang into the microphone, “It seems like every day’s the same and I’m left to discover on my own. It seems like everything is gray and there’s no color to behold…”

Bonnie’s breath caught in her throat as she forgot what had just happened to her a few minutes ago. She loved this song and had been trying to figure out how to play it on her acoustic guitar to mediocre results. Okay, truly bad results, but she was trying to put a brave face on her horrifying attempts at butchering popular songs on her guitar.

Enzo had caught her singing the song softly to herself one night when things had gotten bad. There was no Jeremy to hold her and keep her focused on something other than the darkness that threatened to consume her. When he had asked her later what it was about the song that reached out to her, she had smiled sadly at him and said that it was like the writer of the song had lifted the lyrics straight from her own brain.

He had understood almost immediately and she had been gratified that the words she had been trying to think up in an effort to convey how it felt to have her own thoughts and feelings flipped back at her didn’t need to be stumbled through. As she listened to the song, sometimes on endless repeat if she was feeling bad and sometimes once in a blue moon, she felt a little stronger. She felt like she wasn’t the only one in the world who had suffered.

It was hard, really, to feel like anyone else on the planet could have possibly known what it was like to suffer. To be driven so far low that you were on the verge of killing yourself to make it end. The numbers on suicide hotlines didn’t lie; there were so many thousands who absolutely got it. But there was no way that anyone could ever understand the pain and horror she had gone through. No one.

Part of the reason why she tolerated Enzo was that no matter how caught up she was in feeling like the only person in the entire world who had suffered, he was a standing reminder that she wasn’t alone. That no matter how much her brain thought to remind her that no one in the history of all of mankind understood what she was going through, it was all a lie.

Plenty of people suffered. Some had it worse – like Enzo. Some had it easier – like the G-rated afterschool specials. But at the end of the day, if she could just remember that she wasn’t the only person who had experienced pain on a level that the human mind should never, ever have to adapt to, then it was a step in the right direction.

With a cheeky grin in her direction, Enzo bowed his head and finished the song. There were applause, herself included, all throughout the bar. Enzo didn’t think he could sing, but Bonnie knew better. When he wasn’t being himself and when he stepped out of his own headspace for a few minutes, his voice was something that men and women the world over would kill to listen to,

When Enzo sauntered back towards her, he asked, “Well, luv? Was it everything you had hoped for? Did I sing for my supper?” His eyes were sparkling with mischief and she grinned up at him.

“Oh, you did,” she assured him. He sat down beside her this time, taking a sip of the drink he had left beside her on the table. “It was beautiful.” She lowered her head and murmured softly to him, “Thank you, Enzo.”

“You’re welcome, luv,” he responded. When she looked up, there was a sheen in his eyes that hadn’t been there when he had sat down. She swallowed nervously and glanced away. “Now that I’ve sung for my supper, perhaps you’d care to tell me what had unnerved you earlier while I was waiting to sing?”

Bonnie swallowed nervously and then opened her mouth to explain.


	8. you ought to know where i'm coming from

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun and excitement! Meetings and snark! And more karaoke!

Klaus leaned up against the bar where Cami was busy serving up drinks. The bar was hopping with karaoke night, men and women singing their hearts out while liquid courage pulsed in their veins. The moment he had taken Caroline out of the compound, he had known that they had to make a stop here. Not only would he get a chance to speak with Camille and introduce her to the newest guest in New Orleans, but he could hear Caroline sing and he could admit that listening to her sing was transcendent.

He enjoyed music in many forms. Both the modern music of today and the haunting orchestral notes from the past had found their way into his musical library. No matter what she chose to sing, her voice had a way of reaching deep into his soul and scrubbing away some of the darkness that had accumulated over the years.

As she carefully poured over the booklet of selection, he rested his elbows against the bar and watched her indulgently. She had pulled her hair back from her face and wore a radiant smile as she scanned the titles. Periodically, she would glance over at him or scan the crowd while she perused the selection, trying to find the best songs for the moment.

Her gaze kept being drawn toward the back of the bar where both Enzo and Bonnie were seated. They had both stopped their intense conversation the second Caroline and Klaus had entered.

He had wondered if Caroline would immediately zip over and confront the two of them over what they had done to her. Instead, Caroline had saddled up to the bar and ordered three shots of whiskey in rapid succession before making a beeline for the book of karaoke songs. He had sauntered over to the bar, carefully watching the scene unfold between the friends in case he needed to jump in.

“So what brings you to my neck of the woods, Klaus?” Cami asked behind him. He spun around to face her, offering her a faint smile in greeting. She held a glass of bourbon out to him and he took it from her, eagerly sipping.

“I’ve brought you a new patient,” he said, cocking his head back in Caroline’s direction. Camille’s gaze swept over the young women, taking in her details before she returned her eyes to meet his. “She’s recently been through a trauma, but I thought that since you’ve managed to keep _me_ on such an even keel over the years, you could do wonders with her.”

Camille’s gaze swept back over the blond as she made her music selection before she glanced back at Klaus. “What’s the catch?”

“You know me so well,” Klaus gushed, his voice low. “Due to the death of her mother – the trauma I mentioned – she’s shut off her humanity. I wouldn’t be able to guarantee your safety without being there while you two discuss whatever it is you would need to discuss.”

Camille immediately shook her head. “No go, Klaus. I take doctor/patient confidentiality very seriously. If she’s coming to me as a patient, then I couldn’t very well have you there during our sessions. If you can’t guarantee my safety because she has no humanity, then I can’t do it until my safety can be guaranteed.” Her gaze flitted back towards Caroline again. “I would really love to help and I’m pretty sure I could, but since my safety would be at risk, I can’t. I’m sorry.”

Klaus sighed. “I could try and compel her,” he admitted, “but I would prefer not to.”

“Compel her what?” Caroline asked as she came back to the bar. Her stormy eyes swept over him curiously before she eyed Camille suspiciously. Camille returned the look with interest. “I can compel the bartender if you really want, Klaus, but I don’t know why. I mean, I’m sure there are others in the crowd that would be willing to go off for a few minutes with you.”

“Very funny, Caroline,” Klaus replied sarcastically. “We will not be compelling Camille. She is a friend.”

“Yeah, okay,” Caroline said with a disinterested shrug.

“I was actually talking about compelling _you_ since you must know,” he continued. Her eyes narrowed into slits at the comment and her shoulders stiffened. “I was talking about compelling you to not hurt Cami when you meet with her for your first therapy session.”

“My _what_?” Caroline shrieked.

Several patrons turned around to face them. From the corner of his eye, he caught the looks from Enzo and Bonnie at Caroline’s high pitch. “Keep it down, Caroline. There is no need to cause a scene.”

Caroline opened her mouth to say something, but Camille interrupted. “Counseling is a great way to get things off your chest and if you’ve recently gone through a traumatic experience, I’d really recommend it.” Camille offered Caroline a smile. “Besides, you get to spend an hour of your day just bitching about whatever you want, even Klaus.”

“I don’t know what this asshole told you, lady, but I am just fine,” Caroline assured Cami. With an epic hair flounce, she pushed off into the crowd having usurped Klaus’s bourbon before taking off.

With a sigh, Camille said, “You can bring her by tomorrow. We’ll figure out the logistics of this then.” She poured another bourbon for Klaus before shuffling off down to the other end of the bar where someone was signaling for a refill.

Klaus had no idea how he was going to get Caroline to sign onto this beyond compulsion. What she couldn’t see at the moment and most likely wouldn’t until she turned her humanity back on was that, even with it off, she was still very much hurting. Periodically, he would catch glimpses of Caroline’s eyes and see a sort of ghost lurking there, waiting to be freed.

He wasn’t sure, but he had high hopes that talking about things with a complete stranger would also help to address the question about her humanity. If Camille could gain the girl’s trust and they bonded in the way he had hoped, Caroline may decide to turn her humanity on before the year was up. He had a sneaking suspicion he was grasping at straws, but it was the only thing he could think up in such a short period of time.

The fact that Camille was willing to risk her own safety spoke more about the woman than anything else and as always, Klaus was cowed in the presence of her magnanimity. He knew that he didn’t deserve it and yet, she was generous with him as well. He couldn’t quite wrap his mind around how he had managed to find, screw up, and finally repair this magnificent woman. He was beyond lucky and he knew it when it.

He turned back around to survey the bar, his eyes sweeping back over to Bonnie and Enzo. They were deep in conversation again and Caroline was doing her best to purposely stay away from them. Even with the distance between them, as he was wont to do when he people watched, he could see the zings between the three.

They made a sort of electric parabola between the three of them. The side glances they kept sweeping in one another’s direction. The seeming disinterest between them was the worst acting he had ever seen. They were all so hyper focused on one another.

He felt a shiver down his spine and turned toward the door as his sister and Marcel walked in the door. He had expected to see them eventually. As large a city as New Orleans was, it was only a matter of time before they met up again in the heavy tourist crowds. As he always did, he swept over Rebekah carefully to ensure that she was well taken care of.

He could admit that he still felt a little saddened that she continued to wear the witch’s body. Rebekah seemed to be enjoying the time she was spending in the human’s body. He could almost, though not quite, understand the lure. Sometimes, he too wished he could know what it was like to be nearly deaf, dumb, and blind to the supernatural world that he currently inhabited.

Secretly though, he would be glad when Rebekah decided to go back to her original body. It was a little too jarring to see her in the rail-thin human body with the electrical thrum of magic coursing between her cells. This was the life she should have been granted if their mother hadn’t decided to imbue them with their immortality, but alas, it was not meant to be. No matter how long she spent in that body.

Marcel’s gaze honed in on Caroline the second they stepped through the door, as Klaus knew he would. Caroline, even without her humanity, had a vivaciousness that lured people to her like moths to a flame. In addition to that _joie de vivre_ that she emanated, Marcel could sense that she was a vampire and since he didn’t know who she was, he would want to acquaint himself.

Klaus caught Rebekah’s attention and signaled the two of them over to him. Marcel offered him a thin smile. Their relationship wasn’t as rocky as it had been, but since Marcel had taken back up with his sister, he couldn’t quite reconcile himself to it. And he honestly wasn’t even sure who he was angrier with over it. His son? His sister?

He truly felt that they were awful for one another. No matter which body his sister inhabited, the two of them were not a perfect match. They asked too much from one another. There was no zing, or at least none that he could see, between them like what happened between him and Caroline. They were fooling themselves.

“Klaus,” Marcel said with a nod.

“Sister,” Klaus said cheerfully. “How are you readjusting?”

“As if you care,” Rebekah replied. It was clear that she was still having a hard time after Eva had taken control, but he knew better than to remark upon it. If he did, he would be wrong. And if he didn’t, he would be wrong. No matter what he did, as far as his sister was concerned, he was wrong.

He couldn’t quite figure out when that had really happened – most likely during one of the many times he had meddled in her life without permission and only because he knew what was best for her when she obviously didn’t – but they hadn’t been close in so long.

Sometimes, he missed it.

“Is that Caroline Forbes?” Rebekah demanded, her strident tone piercing to his ears.

“It is,” Klaus agreed. “She is my guest for the foreseeable future.” He nodded toward the back of the bar where Bonnie was watching the three of them and talking quietly in Enzo’s ear. “And you’ll note that in addition to Caroline Forbes, Bonnie Bennett is here as well. She’s brought a boyfriend with her, Enzo something-or-other.”

“Two new vampires and a witch?” Marcel mused thoughtfully. “That could be useful.”

“That is what I was thinking,” he admitted, “but I’ll tell you that Caroline is currently not quite herself.”

“What do you mean?” Rebekah inquired. Her tone made it clear that she couldn’t care less. He couldn’t understand the pettiness between the two. They were both striking in their own way. What had ever happened that made it impossible for the two of them to get along?

“It hardly matters, but it sounds like things have gone from interesting to _very_ interesting in Mystic Falls since we left,” Klaus replied.

Marcel quirked an eyebrow at Klaus before his gaze fastened on the blond vampire. She was dancing to a very poorly sung rendition of a Brittany Spears song. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re leaving out something important, Klaus?”

“Because he’s breathing,” Rebekah snapped irritably. “Do you really think it’s a wise idea to have _guests_ considering what we’re facing? I mean, truly brother. We can’t very well have you distracted right now.”

Klaus gritted his teeth, trying his hardest to not reach out and slap his sister. His hand ached for the white oak ash dagger so that he could neutralize his problematic siblings. This was why he put them to sleep for however long he felt the need. They were constantly nay-saying. He hardly needed that sort of negativity in his life; he clearly had more than enough to spare.

“Really, Rebekah,” Klaus said while he fantasized about stuffing her into a coffin for the foreseeable future. “If I didn’t know any better, I would say that you don’t trust me.”

“I wonder why,” she snapped. She heaved a theatrical sigh before turning to the bar. She held her hand out and called down to Camille: “Cami, I need something strong and delicious!” The bartender waved Rebekah off as she continued to blow through the clamor of human patrons. Klaus knocked back the rest of his bourbon and left the glass on the bar in response to Rebekah’s whining.

She shot him a dark look and said, “I’m going to say hello to Bonnie. I haven’t seen her in a while. You two try not to cause a ruckus while I’m visiting.” She glanced at Marcel before she flounced off. “Please get Camille’s attention and get me something to drink.”

“Don’t forget to introduce yourself, luv,” Klaus called after her. “She’ll have no idea who you are.” As Rebekah shot him a dirty look over her shoulder, he sighed and turned toward Marcel. “She certainly is in fine form tonight, isn’t she?” Klaus remarked as Marcel sidled closer to him. “What did you do before you came in to the bar, Marcel? Throw away her most recent purchases from Nordstrom?”

Marcel laughed. His gaze flickered toward Caroline who was busy dancing with a young woman with short cropped brunette hair and the girl’s date, a mousy young woman with dark eye makeup and dyed black tresses. “Would this be the very same Caroline that you visited in Mystic Falls last year? If I remember correctly, you were in a very good mood after that visit.”

“If you recall, I went to watch the demise of Katherine, my nemesis. Who wouldn’t be in a good mood after watching that?” Klaus reminded him. He felt a smug smile grace his lips before he could force his face into its usual stoic mask. As if his eyes had a mind of their own, his gaze fastened to Caroline as she danced provocatively with her two dance partners. If every eye wasn’t already fastened on her, they would be soon enough.

Sometimes, Klaus thought that Caroline had the ability to weave spells over those in her presence, better than any witch. He could describe her in ten million different ways, but he always came down to the spell she could caste over him and everyone else. She lured everyone in and twisted them, changed them, and be-spelled them with her energy and love. There was no one who could truly keep themselves away from her.

Even those who would cause her harm found themselves drawn to her. Her father was a prime example. He had held her hostage, had wounded and tortured her when he found out that she was a vampire. But in the end, he had admitted that he cared for her and was proud of her. Who else could have possibly have changed the mind of such a person with such deep-seated anti-vampire convictions?

Marcel glanced between the two of them, trying to catch the sense of what was between them and how he could use it to his benefit. “Right,” Marcel said as he picked up the glass Camille had sent down on the bar behind him. “How could I forget that you had gone there to see Katherine die?” Marcel snorted in amusement. “So, at no point did you spend time with Caroline?” Marcel gave Klaus a knowing smile as he watched Caroline continue to dance with the two young women.

“I may have visited with her before I returned to New Orleans,” Klaus said vaguely. Marcel continued to offer up his amusement for Klaus to feast upon. He grabbed the green martini that Camille had made for Rebekah before turning toward the dance floor. “I’m going to get this over to Rebekah before she has another fit.”

“I do hope you’ll stay around for a bit more than a drink,” Klaus added as Marcel started away. He nodded towards Caroline who was disentangling herself from the two young ladies she had taken up with. “Caroline is a lovely singer and I believe her turn is coming up shortly. You should enjoy the show.”

Marcel lifted his glass to Klaus in a salute before wandering around the crowds towards the back of the bar. Rebekah stopped talking to Bonnie as she watched Marcel walk towards them, her drink in hand. Bonnie and Enzo moved over in the booth further, making room for his sister’s paramour. As Rebekah introduced the three of them, Klaus tore his gaze way to focus back on Caroline.

For a moment, he felt a longing that he hadn’t felt in so long. As a child, he had always felt connected to his siblings, but there was a little bit of himself that he held back from them. That part of him, the part that was the wolf deep inside, kept him aloof and distant from his siblings. Even little Henrik, whom he had loved more than anything in the world, had not made him feel like he truly belonged.

And as he watched his sister, Marcel, and the two from Mystic Falls chat and laugh, he wanted to know what it was like to feel that connection with people. He spent his time ruling or having his rules questioned; he never truly felt like he belonged. Always and forever was a long time, but at the end of the day, he was still far removed from his siblings.

They cowered together against him whenever they thought he wasn’t looking. Elijah, Rebekah, and Kol had all bonded together over the millennia that left him feeling left out. Elijah in his constant quest to redeem him; Rebekah in her constant quest to find the most questionable and foolish things to make her happy; Kol in his quest to become the most powerful and nastiest ripper in vampire history… they all had bonded together. And he was, as always, on the outside peering in.

He had never admitted it, not even to himself, but when he was wishing with all of his secret heart to feel connected to his siblings instead of constantly on the opposite side of whatever argument they were in the midst of, he had felt that sort of intense bond with Caroline. When she was calling him out for some shitty thing he had done, she didn’t look at him with revulsion as his brothers and sister did. She looked at with him disappointment. As if she expected better than what he had delivered, and while she found him wanting, she knew that he would one day meet those expectations.

His siblings never looked at him with disappointment. They could be disappointed in one another, but never in him. He was never allowed to make mistakes, or so it seemed. His perfection was mandatory every hour of every day. But with Caroline, he knew that he could be imperfect and she wouldn’t turn away from him because of it.

Caroline flounced to the stage as it was her turn to start singing. She jumped up nibbly and stepped behind the microphone in its stand. She offered the audience a sweet, innocent smile before the music began. “Before I begin, I just want to dedicate this to my two very best friends, Bonnie and Enzo,” she told the crowd. “They’re sitting back over there,” she continued, pointing back toward the two sitting beside Marcel and Rebekah. “Why don’t we give them all a round of applause?”

Intrigued, Klaus pushed away from the bar and caught a glimpse of the looks on their faces. Bonnie looked ready for battle while Enzo looked uncomfortable with the sudden scrutiny from the bar patrons. “Without them, I wouldn’t be here tonight. So we should all thank them for bringing me down to _laissez le bon temps rouler_ as the locals say.” There was a burst of wolf whistles and shouts upon hearing the local saying.

A piano began and the monitor beside her lit up with a count as the song began to play. “At first I was afraid, I was petrified. Kept thinking I could never live without you by my side…” Klaus grinned as she began to pick up the tempo as she went through _I Will Survive_ with gusto. Almost immediately, the crowd began clapping in time to the music.

“Wow, Klaus,” Camille said from behind him. He glanced back at Cami, still grinning at Caroline’s musical tastes. She certainly knew how to get a word in edgewise even if it meant singing those words. “She definitely knows how to say ‘screw you’ without actually saying it, huh?”

“Are you regretting your offer, Camille?” He asked as she set another bourbon down on the bar before him.

Camille watched Caroline as she pulled the microphone from its stand and began to dance around the stage in time to the claps and singing. “Oh, no,” Cami said. “If nothing else, it’s only given me more proof that she _definitely_ needs at least a session… probably more than one.” Camille brushed her blond hair out of her face. “I just think it’s going to get really, really interesting if she doesn’t want to play ball.”

“I will compel her if I have to,” Klaus assured his friend. He didn’t like the idea in any context, but if it came down to Camille or Caroline, he would choose Camille. She wasn’t able to protect herself, being a human caught up in the supernatural the way she was. No matter how many cursed objects her uncle had left in her care, she still needed his protection.

“No,” Camille said slowly. “I don’t think we’ll need that. I just have to wonder, if she wants to tell me to fuck off, how will she go about it? I mean, it’s a little different when it’s in private – maybe not even that satisfying really – but it will certainly be entertaining.”


	9. some helpless fool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie meets the Regent, who has an interesting request.

Bonnie had been a bundle of nerves all morning and into the early afternoon, trying to do her dead level best to distract herself from this meeting. But she didn’t know what would happen or what new nonsense she might accidentally get drawn into because of this. The not knowing was enough to keep her nerves on overtime.

The bugs were back, crawling across her forearms and legs. No matter how many times she would reach down to slap them away or scratch them off, the feeling persisted. Her chest felt a little too tight, no matter how loose and airy her shirt was. It was too hot and too cold. She felt a little like Goldilocks, flitting from one thing to another in an effort to find something that was “just right.” Enzo would only look at her knowingly and do his best to distract her from the snarl of her own thoughts.

He only made it worse, but he didn’t not really.

She found herself yelling at him for breathing too loudly in her presence and that had been the final straw. She had instantly broken down in tears, apologizing before he could snap at her. What she hadn’t realized, not until later, was that he wouldn’t have. If anyone knew what the matter with her was, it was Enzo. He always seemed to understand that when she snapping at him for stupid things, it was probably because she was working herself up in a lather.

The icing on the cake had been after Enzo had managed to force her to eat some melon for lunch. As she sat there, tapping her fingers anxiously against the dining room table as she counted down the minutes to when she had to leave, Elijah had entered the room badly startling her. Before she could even blink, the table cloth had been set on fire and Enzo was shoving her out of the way while Elijah put the damn thing out. Beyond mortified, she had apologized monosyllabically again and hurried from the room.

It had been a long time since she had done something so stupid because of her own problems. And it was almost as if she had one really good day so now she had to royally screw it up by setting fire to a table. What if it had been Enzo or Elijah? She would have been in a world of hurt and all because she couldn’t get her own shit together long enough to live a normal life.

As she had berated herself for being so stupid, Enzo had slipped into the room and before she could say anything to him, he had wrapped his arms around her and just held her. There was nothing for him to say that she would have wanted to hear and she was gratified that he could just be there. It was nice to have someone seeming to know exactly what she needed after an idiotic stunt like that.

She had, of course, made it all the worse by bursting into tears. As he held her, rocking her gently back and forth, he had murmured: “Bon, you don’t have to do this.”

“But I do,” she had sobbed unceremoniously snuffling like a child. “This is the way it is when you enter another witch’s territory and I-I-I-I-” So overcome, she couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence. All she kept seeing in her mind was the look on Kai’s face when he realized that they were alone together and no one, nothing would interrupt his fun. All she could think was the times she had spent underneath his careful and psychotic ministrations.

“We can always make an excuse; I’m sure they’ll understand,” he replied.

“B-b-but,” she began, her teeth chattering as she buried her face in his chest. She wanted to climb inside him, hide herself beneath his skin so she wouldn’t feel her own feelings, wouldn’t have to continue to go through the motions. She just wanted to be someone, anyone, else for a little while.

“I mean, let’s be honest here, luv; what’s the point in staying with the Big Bad of New Orleans if we can’t use it to our advantage? I mean, nepotism has its perks, doesn’t it? Don’t you think if we bring this nonsense up to Klaus he’d find a way to get you out of this?”

Sniffling, Bonnie pulled away to look into his face. “I don’t want to make any enemies, Enzo,” she whispered, her eyes wide with terror. The thought of pissing off another witch, or many other witches, was paralyzing. She had angered Kai by existing and being available to him just when he needed to vent his frustrations. She didn’t want the same thing to happen again.

He sighed and then nodded. “I wish I could go with you, luv. I think that might help.”

“I’m glad you can’t,” she said, a hard sheen in her eyes as their gazes locked. It was in that moment that Enzo realized what she meant. She wanted to protect him, to keep him safe, from whatever new supernatural horror waited in the limelight. Overcome with his own emotion at the thought, he pulled her tightly into his arms again, trying to silently wish some of his own strength into her.

When she had finally started to get ready, her limbs had felt like lead weights. Everything she needed to do to get dressed for this meeting had taken her twice as long as it normally would. All she wanted to do was sleep, hide under the down coverlet that adorned her guest bed and sleep the rest of her life away. Instead, she had mechanically gone through the motions to do what she knew she needed to do.

The pep talk Bonnie had given herself on the ride over to the Regent’s house had done absolutely nothing. All it had done was seem to set herself even more on edge than she had been before she had left the compound. She closed her eyes and counted to ten, trying to take deep breaths as she counted.

She opened her eyes and looked up at the oversized home of the Regent of New Orleans, trying to figure out exactly what she was going to tell this ruler of the whole city, shoving her anxiety down as far as it would go so she could get through this. She wasn’t sure what would work here especially since she wasn’t totally sure what the Regent would be looking for when they finally met face to face.

She knew that being honest was probably her best policy, but she had a sneaking suspicion that the invitation Vincent had given to her had a little less to do with her being an unaffiliated witch in New Orleans and more to do with the fact that they probably knew she was staying with the Mikaelsons.

The problem was that she didn’t know how much the supernatural community was aware of when it came to the usual insanity the Mikaelsons were in the middle of. Did they know about Klaus’s daughter or this alleged maternal aunt out to kidnap the kid? And if they did already know all of that, then what was the point in this meeting? Was it simply for the Regent to learn about a new witch in their territory or were they hoping to get something truly juicy out of her to use against the Mikaelsons?

How many times had she and her friends plotted to do the same thing? Bonnie had no doubts that the Originals had continued their long line of making enemies wherever they hung their hat. It was a no brainer. She had gone into this meeting pretty much assuming that the Regent would try to learn as much as possible about what the Originals were now up to and how to use that to their advantage. Just the thought that she would be used against the person she needed to help her best friend made her shake.

Bonnie couldn’t put her best friend at risk though. She needed Caroline whole and with her humanity turned back on. But she could also sympathize with the local witches, who were just trying to survive in a city taken over by the original vampires.

With a sigh, she walked up the front steps, trying to get her nerves back under control. Everything was pressing down on her. She could come away from this in even more dire straits than she already was. Or she may not be able to leave this meeting at all if she didn’t give the witches what they wanted. She was glad, at least, that she had told Enzo that he could not come with her and that no, staying in the car wasn’t an option because that would mean that he had come along after she had been told no vampires.

And what was with that anyway, she wondered. Sure, witches weren’t huge fans of vampires for good reason. They were unnatural according to lore, but she could also admit that some vampires – like Enzo and Elena, and Stefan when he wasn’t a ripper and Caroline when she had her humanity turned on– were pretty decent folk. The sense of wrongness that sometimes assaulted her at their closeness had long since faded and she no longer saw them as unnatural like her ancestors did.

She had always assumed that since the spell Esther did had been able to create the Originals anyway, it meant that nature was okay with vampires in the world. After all, werewolves had existed at that point; why not vampires too? It never made sense to her why witches always looked down on them like they were some second class citizen. Was it because a spell had created them and not evolution?

Bonnie took another breath, knowing that she was just putting off the inevitable. No matter how long she stood outside, she couldn’t escape the fact that this meeting had to take place. If she turned around and went back to the compound, she knew that things would most likely get worse. She hoped she would get through this, silently asking her ancestors to not let herself look like a fool.

She looked down at her shaking hands as she slowly climbed up the staircase. They were her own two hands, two hands that had accidentally set fire to the dining room table at the Mikaelsons. The same two hands that had clutched Enzo to her tightly as she cried that afternoon. The two hands before her eyes were the same two hands that had fought against Kai over and over again, choosing to keep her soul instead of sacrificing her sanity. She reminded herself that she had gone through far worse at the hands of the Mikaelsons themselves and she had come out on top.

Somehow, that made her feel better.

Her hands were still shaking as she gripped the ornate knocker on the wooden door and banged the metal against its base. She knocked three times before letting her shaking hands fall to her sides. She clenched both into fists, trying to wish away the shakes and the phantom bugs that would show up for a micro-second before disappearing again. She reminded herself that she was Bonnie Bennett, a force to be reckoned with, as a nondescript man opened the door.

She had been expecting Vincent, but instead came to face to face with the bland, blank face of some servant. The man didn’t speak but stepped back to give her the opportunity to step inside. Bonnie reminded herself again about what line of witches she came from and stepped inside, letting the servant close the door behind her.

He gestured for her to follow him and led her down a wide hallway towards a parlor in the back. The parlor was grandiose and filled with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. In the center of the room was an artfully created seating arrangement. In an overstuffed pale green chair sat a young woman, with tanned skin and dark hair that curled around her face. Beside her stood Vincent Griffith, looking for all the world like he was her bodyguard.

Bonnie stepped into the room as her guide left her alone with these two. She was momentarily taken aback by the power that emanated from them both. She could sense the power in both of them with that sense of hers that spoke to other witches. But just as she had been able to distinguish last night, though he had power in droves, it was different from her own. The source of it was not like hers at all; it felt familiar and foreign at the same time.

She felt the same thing with the young woman who was studying her with the same sort of wide-eyed curiosity that Bonnie was giving her. The difference was that the power source had a different taste than Vincent’s. Vincent’s power made her think of darkness and blood, bones and dirt, metal and iron. The woman’s had a taste of bones and dirt, but also carried with it cinnamon and clove as well as stone and incense. The dichotomy was enough to make the trembling in Bonnie’s legs become more noticeable.

Bonnie reminded herself yet again that she wasn’t alone, that her ancestors had created a powerful bloodline and that she could, Regent or not, inflict damage on them both if she needed to get away. But Bonnie didn’t want things to end that way. She wanted to be able to leave this meeting knowing the Regent and this mystery body guard and messenger duo, Vincent. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was to talk to other witches even if on some fundamental level, other witches also terrified her. She never knew if she was going to accidentally meet another Kai.

When the two of them finally felt that they had gotten her measure, Vincent helped the young woman to her feet and led her by the hand towards Bonnie. Bonnie swallowed down the bile that burned her throat, trying to remain as calm as she hoped she looked. “It’s nice to see you, Bonnie,” Vincent said as they stopped a few steps in front of her. “I wasn’t sure if you would actually show up.”

“You made it seem like it was important to get my witchy _faux pas_ resolved as quickly as possible,” Bonnie retorted. “I wanted to get my gaff fixed so that I can go about my life while I’m in New Orleans without looking over my shoulder.”

Vincent cracked the briefest of smiles at her response as the young woman glanced at her compatriot. “What is this, Vincent? Did you _con_ her into coming here?”

Bonnie felt a moment of suspicion, trying to figure out if this was a good cop, bad cop routine. She couldn’t be sure. “Well, Davina, I thought it would be best to remind outside witches that they do not mess with the Regent of New Orleans,” Vincent explained. Bonnie glanced at the young woman’s – Davina’s – face to gauge her reaction: she looked equal parts annoyed and dismayed. She thought it might be genuine, so long as Davina wasn’t another psychopath like Jo’s twin brother.

Davina shook her head and released her hold on Vincent’s arm. “Look, I’m sorry,” the young woman told Bonnie. “I didn’t want you to come here because you had to. I just – damn it.” Davina stopped and sighed. “I just wanted to meet you. You’re a Bennett witch, aren’t you?”

Bonnie looked at the young woman, who had to be the Regent, wearily. She hadn’t told Vincent who she was; how could they have guessed? “So what if I am?” Not all witches were fond of Bennett witches, for good reason. Her ancestors hadn’t always played fair.

“Let’s be honest with one another, okay?” Davina asked.

“Davina,” Vincent said warningly.

“Vincent, can you please give us a few minutes alone?” Davina asked, her gaze firmly locked on the floor as she spoke between clenched teeth. Bonnie caught the disapproving look Vincent tossed in Davina’s direction before he stepped around Bonnie to leave the room. “Thank you, Vincent,” Davina added as her friend started away.

Bonnie watched the bodyguard walk away before she turned back to the young woman, who was staring at her intently. “So, I know you’re staying with the Mikaelsons and beyond the fact that I think you’re making a terrible choice with who you keep as friends, I need help with a spell I found in what I think is a Bennett witch’s grimoire.”

“I have all of my family’s grimoires,” Bonnie said wearily. Or at least, she had assumed she had them all.

“Well, not all of them,” Davina assured her. “Can we sit?” Without waiting for an answer, she turned and walked back toward the seating arrangement, sitting down on the overstuffed chair. The young woman kicked off her shoes and slid her feet beneath the hem of her long skirt, looking for all the world like an innocent child.

Bonnie slowly followed, still not sure if she could trust this powerful witch or not. And the idea that the New Orleans witches would have one of her family’s grimoires was preposterous. Her grams had managed to find everything that the family had accidentally lost over the years. Every spell a Bennett witch had ever conjured into being was kept secure and safe with the rest of her family’s witchy belongings, which were in her possession back in Mystic Falls. There was no way that she could believe one of her family’s precious spell books had fallen into the hands of a strange coven of witches.

Bonnie took the chair opposite Davina and was pleasantly surprised to find the overstuffed chair was just as comfortable as she had hoped it would be. On the table between them, Davina had an old faded grimoire and a teapot on a trivet, steam curling lazily out of the spout. “Would you like some tea?” the young witch asked, gesturing to the teapot.

“No, thank you,” Bonnie replied. She didn’t think her nerves could handle it.

Davina studied Bonnie, trying to gauge the Bennett witch. Vincent had told her all manner of things about the power of the Bennett bloodline once he had figured out who the new witch in town was after visiting her last night. She knew enough history to know that messing with a Bennett witch was something that a lot of other witches had come to regret. She wanted to stay on Bonnie’s good side as much as she possibly could, but she needed her help to decipher the spell and she was going to get it. There was nothing that was going to stop her from bringing Kol back from the dead.

Even though she had the ability to use her gift from the Ancestors to bring Kol back, she wanted a backup just in case something happened. She knew how to work magic, but she also knew that nothing was certain. The Ancestors may have agreed to having her as their Regent, but there was no telling if they would actually go through with the spell she wanted, no _needed_ , to complete.

“What makes you think you have one of my family’s spell books?” Bonnie asked quietly. Davina lifted the book in question and handed it over, biting her lip as she took a chance. Would the witch take it and try to make off with it? Some witches were very protective about their family’s grimoires and for good reason. They were family heirlooms and diaries, passed down from generation to generation to connect one generation to another. Ancestral magic might not necessarily be an integral part for all witch covens but she had done enough research to know that it was important to the Bennett line.

“Take a look and you tell me,” Davina answered as Bonnie flipped through the pages. It took her a few moments to come to the front of the book where the name Susanna Bennett was scrawled. Bonnie touched the name and felt an electric shock as her fingers made contact. She looked up at Davina in shock, recalling a name she had not seen in any of the grimoires her grams had kept in her home.

Susanna had been the enigmatic mother of Emily Bennett, the witch who had trapped the witches beneath the church of Mystic Falls and had crafted the daylight rings to begin with. Neither Bonnie nor her grandmother could find out much through genealogical records about this hidden mother of Emily though they had both tried. Bonnie had wanted to learn about Susanna, hoping to understand how she had managed to bring such a powerful witch into the world while her grandmother had been interested to know if Susanna had been a practicing witch, teaching her powerful daughter the art of spell work.

“I can’t believe it,” Bonnie whispered as she looked back down at the name scrawled on the opening page of the book. She looked at Davina and felt such a huge rush. “My grandmother and I tried to find out if Susanna had been a practicing witch but the only thing we could find out was that she was murdered before her daughter left the Bay Colony.” She looked down at the book in her hands, realizing that her hands were shaking. She slid the book on the table between them and clenched her hands into fists. “That’s… that’s definitely one of my family’s grimoires. I recognized some of the spells.”

Davina felt a surge of relief at the admission. She had been worried that Bonnie would say she had never seen some of the spells within, but the fact that she had seen them meant that it was possible the Bennett witch could help her with the resurrection spell within. “I’ll be glad to turn it over to your care, if you help me with one of the spells I found.”

“I don’t know if I can help necessarily. I recognized some of those spells from other Bennett books, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be able to help you with one,” Bonnie said quietly. She watched her hands as they continued to shake in fist form.

Davina took the book into her hands and flipped open to the resurrection spell she had found. It was rudimentary, not quite fleshed out. Davina’s hope was that Bonnie had found a better version of the spell in another Bennett witch’s grimoire, a spell that would help her bring Kol back. “This is the spell,” Davina explained, holding the book back out to Bonnie.

As Bonnie’s eyes scanned the page, she recognized the resurrection spell she had used on her friends. There were a lot of openings in the spell, things that Emily filled in later to give the spell form, but the beginnings of the spell were there. Bonnie looked over at Davina, surprised again by her request. “If you’re looking to resurrect someone, you must really miss them,” Bonnie fished between her stiff lips.

“Can we at least admit to being honest with one another?” Davina asked quietly. “And promise maybe not to share what happens here with the Mikaelsons?”

Bonnie asked suspiciously, “why shouldn’t I tell them? They’re my hosts after all.”

“Look, Bonnie, I bet you’re really great and all as a person, but you do know that you have the worst taste in friends, right? The Mikaelsons are evil.”

Bonnie let out a small laugh. “You’re preaching to the choir there. And I wouldn’t say that we’re friends. We’re acquaintances at any rate.”

Davina frowned, wondering at the story there. She couldn’t understand why someone who sounded like she was distinctly ambivalent towards the Originals would be staying with them. Did they have something on her? Was she here against her will? Maybe Bonnie was the secret weapon that they were going to use against whatever evil person was threatening the life of Klaus’ child? Was it possible that with her help she could free Bonnie from whatever Machiavellian plot the Mikaelsons were using to force Bonnie’s compliance?

“Then why are you staying with them?”

“I need something from them,” Bonnie explained, hoping that Davina wouldn’t push any further. She didn’t want to lie to the girl. Though she couldn’t be sure, but she thought that she and Davina could be friends one day. “And I get to stay in a pretty nice place for free while they do me a favor.”

“What do you have over them that they would do you a favor?” Davina gasped out before she could stop herself.

She would love to be able to wield that kind of power over the damn vampires. They had done nothing but take and take and take, ruining everything with their very existence. The only decent one was Kol, and maybe Rebekah but even she could turn against her supposed friends in a moment of supreme selfishness especially if it meant protecting her precious family. Davina couldn’t imagine being able to force _Klaus Mikaelson_ of all people to do something for her without serious repercussions.

“Let’s just say that they owe me,” Bonnie said coolly, trying not to think of all the times that she and her friends had helped them out of a bind only to get sucked into the next supernatural nonsense they started. Bonnie shook her head to clear it from the doom and gloom that was threatening. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. What _does_ matter is whether or not you really care about this person you are trying to resurrect. The answer to my question is really important, Davina, if you expect me to help you.”

Davina frowned, trying to understand why it would be so important. “Well, yes,” Davina finally admitted, still confused. “I would do anything to bring this person back.”

“You love this person,” Bonnie pressed.

“Yes, with everything I have,” Davina admitted, looking down at her entwined fingers. When she looked back up to catch Bonnie’s glance, Bonnie knew that she was going to help the young witch. “He was killed and I… I need him to come back.” There were tears in the young girl’s voice and eyes when she spoke.

“Okay,” Bonnie breathed. “Okay, I’ll help you but you’re not going to like it.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the only way to complete the spell is to sacrifice one person for the one you’re trying to bring back,” Bonnie explained. “Someone else you know and maybe even love will almost certainly die to bring him back for you.” Bonnie offered Davina a commiserating smile. “If you can handle the fact that someone else you know and love might die, then I’ll help…

“So long as you don’t mind having an unaffiliated witch hanging around your city for who knows how long.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay but such is life. Hopefully this makes up for anyone who has been looking for more!


	10. there's skeletons in my bones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The problem with having so many vampires in a single place is that, invariably, someone eventually decides to throw a punch.

Enzo hadn’t been sure how to fill his time while Bonnie was meeting the Regent. He wasn’t sure how long the meeting would last, hoping that it would be one of those quick pop-in meet-and-greets. He paced the nice room he had been provided for a few minutes before he decided to settle down to finish the book he had snagged from Bonnie. But after the fifth time of reading the same sentence again, he had realized that he was too anxious for any of that.

He hadn’t realized in the time that they had been together how much he preferred to be in her presence. It wasn’t simply that he enjoyed her company though he did enjoy their friendship – not that he would admit it to her face – but the fact that he wasn’t sure what was going on or if she would need him.

For months, he had put himself at her beck and call whether she realized it or not. No matter what sort of nonsense was going around and causing mayhem back in Mystic Falls, he had kept a close eye on Bonnie. He understood while her friends did not that she needed someone to keep an eye on her after her time in the prison world. And he had decided that he fit the bill as babysitter.

Now that there were no distractions from Mystic Falls and the chaos her friends always found themselves in, he had been able to devote all of his time and attention to her. He didn’t have to try and balance his duties watching her with something else. He could focus solely on her and now, she had gone off without him.

Anxious at how things would play out, he left his room and began exploring. Aside from the brief tour Elijah had given them on their way to their rooms and the brief exploration he had undertaken with Bonnie, he hadn’t really stopped to look around. He preferred to know everything he could about a place, but hadn’t given it the time because of his concern for Bonnie’s well-being.

He had the time and found that the compound was a treasure trove. He discovered Klaus’s art studio, which boasted quite a few interesting pieces. He found a number of sketches of Caroline with various expressions on her face; a piece of Elijah and their sister, Rebekah, in the new body she was inhabiting; two of Rebekah’s boyfriend, what’s-his-name; and a few landscapes of New Orleans. The true works of art though were the hundreds of canvases in various shapes and sizes that outlined the growth of his daughter, Hope.

Once he had felt he had learned everything he could about Klaus’s artistic talent, he had continued on, spurred by curiosity masking his need to know how Bonnie was fairing. He discovered a library with floor to ceiling shelves with all manner of collections. Whoever had filled the room had eclectic tastes with books ranging from business to classics, from history to seedy vampire fiction. He pulled out the copy of _Twilight_ , trying to figure out who could possibly have tucked that monstrosity in such a beautiful room. He decided to leave it out on the table beside the settee just to see what would happen.

He rehashed the trail he and Bonnie had followed on their way to the kitchen, making strategic stops at all of the rooms with open doors for a brief peek before moving on. The rooms that had their doors shut and locked required a few extra minutes with his lock picking kit before he was able to peer around inside. He found a number of rooms shut up and dusty, filled with musty smelling clothes and other unused items from the Originals’ long vampire lifestyles.

Quite by accident, he found a bedroom with a large queen bed that had a smaller room just off the doorway with a crib in the center. Realizing that he had most likely found Klaus’s daughter, and his daughter’s mother’s room. He took a deep breath, scenting the perfume of this Hayley person’s room and scented a heavy dose of werewolf. Frowning, he decided to close the bedroom door from his curious gaze before he went too far.

When he felt like he had explored enough, he was startled to see that it had been two hours since he had last seen Bonnie. He felt a spike of anxiety, wondering what sort of reception she had found herself having with the Regent of New Orleans. Before he could let himself fall into it, he went back up to the library and pulled the original copy of _Frankenstein_ from its resting place. He decided to read in the shadow of one of the balconies out in the courtyard while he waited for Bonnie’s return.

And if nothing else, he could keep his ears open to listen for Bonnie’s return.

As he settled down in a chaise lounge beneath a balcony, letting the shade keep him cool, he glanced around the courtyard again. He had to admit that the Originals had certainly done well for themselves by establishing themselves in the middle of the Quarter and with so much space. He supposed that’s what one could expect when you lived for millennia.

He found himself engrossed in the story of _Frankenstein_ , as he always did. He could see himself in the monster so clearly, so easily. He decided to ask Bonnie to give it a read, just to see if she could see herself in the monster too.

Across from his shaded spot in the rear of the courtyard, the door to the main entrance opened, letting Elijah into the place. Enzo sat completely still, watching Elijah as he held the door open for Marcel and Rebekah. They were murmuring to one another as they walked by him without so much as a glance back: “Niklaus will not listen to reason. We must do something and I think Freya is the key.”

“We can’t betray…” Their voices trailed off as they continued further into their home. Enzo leaned forward a ways, hoping to catch the thread of their conversation again but at that moment, a trumpet player took up just outside of the courtyard and drowned out just about everything else.

Annoyed at his lost opportunity to eavesdrop on someone else’s conversation, and an important sounding conversation at that, he settled back to his book. He was a third of the way through when the trumpet player stopped blasting into the weakening daylight. Out front he could clearly hear Caroline’s plaintive voice as though she were speaking directly in his ear. “I mean, truly, Klaus, this is ridiculous. I went to your stupid club and I sat for an hour with your stupid therapist. I want to go. Have. Fun.”

“Sweetheart,” Klaus replied, “I have told you that things are not settled in this city and I cannot be sure that you will be safe.”

“I am damn sick and tired of getting sucked into everybody else’s supernatural war. Why can’t all of you just get along for once in your long, miserable, and boring lives?” Caroline shouted as they came into the courtyard. “I really don’t think I’m asking all that much when I say that I want to go and see Jackson Square for the first time in my life.”

“Caroline—“ Klaus began.

She rounded on him, hands in fists on her hips as she shouted him down: “You promised that if I came to New Orleans you would show me the world. You’ve shown me nothing!”

“Caroline,” Klaus tried again. But of course, this time he was interrupted not be the enchantingly annoyed blond bombshell, but his brother. Above Enzo’s perch, Elijah came striding out of the house with both Marcel and Rebekah on his heels. The couple stayed above to peer down at the two as Elijah made his announcement halfway down the staircase.

Enzo sat forward, keeping his book in his hands in case nothing came of the stern expression on Elijah’s face. It looked like the eldest Original was going to have it out with Klaus. Enzo wondered if that would include whatever whispered secrets between Rebekah, Marcel, and Elijah that he had missed when they came back from whatever meeting they had had together.

“Niklaus, we have a problem,” Elijah announced as the Original Hybrid came into the garden. Enzo carefully set his book down to better watch the exchange between the two brothers. Caroline pouted beside Klaus at being ignored.

“Of course we do, Elijah,” Klaus replied as he rolled his eyes at Caroline. Caroline promptly threw herself down into the closest chair, the pout wiped off her face once she saw the thunderous expression on Elijah’s. With her eyes wide, she looked on with avid interest. “Why don’t you tell me what our latest problem is now?”

“Bonnie is losing control of her magic,” Elijah said. “This afternoon, I came into the dining room and evidently startled her enough where she set the table on fire.”

“Was she hurt?” Klaus asked thoughtfully, trying to puzzle out what he was hearing. It was clear to him that Bonnie and Enzo were just as reticent to talk about what had been going on back in Mystic Falls as he was about discussing his aunt Dahlia or his sister, Freya. But something had happened to Bonnie where even something as simple as the shock of his brother’s face could cause her to lose control enough to set things on fire.

Caroline’s eyes widened even further as she took this in. She wasn’t surprised, not really. Bonnie had been losing control over herself a bit at a time since she had come back from that prison world or whatever. She wasn’t the same old Bonnie. It didn’t take much to startle her although, to be fair, Bonnie hadn’t accidentally set fire to their dorm room or anything the last time she had scared the witch.

This could be useful, Caroline mused. She had been behaving, doing as she was bid. She was only going to put up with all the rules and regulations that Klaus had tossed her way until she found a good way out. If she could startle Bonnie enough, maybe she would set something else on fire and she could run off to investigate New Orleans without the giant hybrid babysitter getting in her way?

“No, Niklaus, Bonnie is quite well,” Elijah ground out. “Why can’t you see what I’ve been telling you? This isn’t going to work.” Elijah looked like he was going to throw a temper tantrum, or maybe a punch, if he couldn’t get his brother to agree. “Bonnie is a danger to herself and others.”

“Bonnie is no more a danger to herself or others today as she was last year, mate,” Enzo interrupted, annoyed with the Stock Exchange Original. He stood up from his seat beneath the wraparound balcony and stepped into the daylight to stare down Elijah. It was obvious to him that all of this nonsense was not coming from a place of friendship but a place of selfishness. He hadn’t wanted them in the house from the start and he was going to do whatever he could to see them out.

“Tell that to the dining room table,” Elijah retorted.

Enzo stopped in front of the eldest Original, staring him down venomously. “And you just sat around, waiting patiently until your brother came back to tell him the details, didn’t you?” Enzo shook his head, sneering at Elijah. “Bonnie told you both she’s had a bad year. You surprised her when she wasn’t paying attention. She was sorry the minute it happened.”

Caroline rolled her eyes from her perch. “Oh, please,” Caroline said. The bitterness in her voice was a surprise. Enzo had expected more of the same old Carole-without-humanity bitchiness. “Bonnie is absolutely a danger to others. She’s a damn powerful witch and she knows better. I always knew it was a matter of time before she lost it. I don’t know why anyone is surprised or even defending her.”

“Shut up, Caroline,” Enzo’s voice oozed with acid. He hadn’t realized he was spoiling for a fight until just then. He clenched his hands into fists as he raked his gaze over her, annoyed that she would turn on her best friend in a split second. Didn’t she realize that all of this bullshit was for her benefit?

“Excuse me?” Caroline shouted, hopping to her feet. She was in front of him in a second, whooshing until they were practically nose to nose. “Don’t you dare talk to me that way, Lorenzo! Need I remind you that Bonnie hasn’t been right in the head for a while? It was only a matter of time—”

Before he could stop himself, he had snapped her neck and she fell to the ground. He looked down at her crumpled body at his feet, Elijah and Klaus also looking down at her. From above, he could feel the heated gaze of Marcel and Rebekah on the back of his neck. “Well, she should be quiet for a while at least,” he muttered.

“What was she saying?” Klaus asked, his voice soft yet lethal. Enzo looked at the Hybrid, trying to decide how far was too far. He was more than willing to throw down, and most likely lose, against Elijah. He had no doubts that if it came down between the eldest brother and himself, he would not come out of the fight unscathed. And Enzo had been looking forward to that fight, itching to use Elijah’s face for a punching bag. But he knew better than to try with Klaus. “Bonnie’s not ‘right in the head’?”

Enzo sighed. “Look, mate,” he began, speaking slowly as he tried to figure out how to politely tell him it was none of his business, “it’s not my place to tell you what’s happened to Bonnie. Suffice to say she spent some time with a very bad individual recently and there have been… side effects.” He sighed again. “She’s perfectly fine; Caroline is still angry that Bonnie decided to kidnap her to have her turn her humanity switch turned back on.”

“Wait, Caroline is without her humanity?” Rebekah snapped. She rushed down the stairs as quickly as she could, but her boyfriend had made it to the bottom of the stairs long before her. Enzo couldn’t help but notice that Marcel put himself in a position where he could easily step in between Klaus and Rebekah. “You think it’s a good idea to keep a vampire without her humanity in the same house where your daughter lives?”

“Ah, Rebekah. I suppose you’re here to also tell me what a terrible father I am and how I should listen to Elijah for the benefit of all.” Klaus shook his head, sneering at his sister. “And I will have you note that Hope _isn’t here_. She’s in the bloody swamp with Hayley and that idiot, Jackson!”

“You’re damn straight that’s why I’m here,” Rebekah snapped back. “You keep making mistakes, brother, and eventually it’s going to cost you the life of your daughter!”

“As always, the two of you are against me,” Klaus shouted, finally losing his cool. Carefully, Enzo stepped away from the fray. It was the wrong move because Klaus rounded to face him as he tried to move out of the way. “And you –” Klaus snapped, eyes blazing. “We have _not_ finished this conversation. Caroline has every right to be upset with the both of you for not honoring the bargain you made with her.”

“I made no bargain, mate,” Enzo retorted. “Bonnie may or may not have; you’d have to ask her.”

“Well, where is the witch? Let’s get this all out in the open. We’re all airing our dirty laundry; we may as well continue the trend.”

“Er,” Enzo replied. The moment turned awkward as he tried to figure out how to explain what had happened. “Bonnie’s not here. She’s meeting the witch regent or something.”

“Why in the world is Bonnie spending any time with Davina? And why is no one who lives in this household aware of this?” Klaus demanded, shooting daggers at Elijah.

“My job is to protect my niece, Niklaus, not play the babysitter for the two you foolishly allowed to stay here,” Elijah retorted haughtily.

“Your ‘job’ as you so quaintly put it is exactly what I tell you it is, brother,” Klaus hissed. His eyes flashed gold at the four of them, signaling that the leash on his temper was fast approaching the moment where it would break. “And I told you that they were staying here and that I wanted them to be watched out for.

“Instead, you decided it best to whine at your little sister and her paramour about my apparent ineptitude when it comes to what’s in _my daughter’s_ best interest. You have done absolutely nothing to help me in any of my endeavors, but you continue to hound me at every step.

“Always and forever, as poetic as it may have once sounded, is the true curse of this family!” Panting, Klaus stared down first one sibling and then the other. Neither Rebekah nor Elijah could meet his golden gaze. Enzo couldn’t tell if it was shame that kept their gaze low or something else.

In the loud silence that enveloped them, Marcel finally said, “Look, Klaus. We’re all very worried about Hope. This Dahlia threat is no joke and we want to do everything we can to make sure your daughter is safe. Why can’t you see that?”

“Why can’t you see that I will do whatever I have to do in order to keep my daughter safe?”

“Even bring in a powerful witch who’s losing control over her own magic?” Marcel inquired.

Enzo sighed and looked up at the darkening sky. “I’m pretty sure I _just_ explained all this already, didn’t I?” He asked the fluffy cloud above his head. “I spoke out loud; I’m pretty sure of it.”

“Who are you talking to, smartass?” Marcel snapped.

Enzo glanced back at Marcel, gauging how far he could get if the two of them came to blows. He thought that they were evenly matched as far as age was concerned, but there was no telling who could come out on top. Enzo had done everything in his power to make sure that he could protect himself after the fifty years he stayed with the Augustine Society, but he couldn’t be sure who would win the fight.

With a shrug, Enzo swooshed in and slammed a right hook into Marcel’s shocked face. Before he could get another hit in, someone had grabbed his shirt by the collar and hauled him away from Rebekah’s boyfriend. When Enzo looked to his left, he saw Elijah’s face above his own. Before Elijah looked back towards Marcel, Enzo thought he saw a look of respect pass across Elijah’s eyes.

“This is really getting us nowhere,” Rebekah said as her brother held Marcel in similar fashion to how Elijah was holding Enzo.

“I really didn’t think you had it in you,” Marcel remarked as he reached up to rub his jaw. “I’ll make sure to note that you like to take your opponent by surprise.”

“Better to get the first punch in and go down fighting than to live with regret,” Enzo said with another shrug. Coming to a decision, Elijah let go of Enzo. Enzo looked down at his bruised fist. “If it makes you feel any better, your face is about as soft as a brick wall.”

Marcel grinned in response and the tension in the air dissipated with that smirk. “I like you,” Marcel said, “Though I’ll warn you, you won’t get the drop on me again.”

“We can always give it a go when things are calmer,” Enzo assured him earnestly.

“You’re on,” Marcel agreed.

Rebekah huffed and said, “Now that we’ve all had a lovely taste of testosterone, can we get back to the point at hand? We need to protect Hope, Niklaus, and you’re decision to turn our home into a school for wayward children isn’t helping keep her safe.”

“Truly?” Klaus asked. “I have a powerful witch at my disposal, sister. I have two additional vampires to add into the fray should the need arise. And you honestly believe that having them here is a hindrance?”

“Need I remind you that Bonnie is apparently not…” Rebekah trailed off, glancing back at Enzo before she finished her thought: “… having a very good time of things right now. One of the vampires you’re talking about has turned off their humanity switch and the other is… well. I don’t know really anything about him honestly.”

“I’m really not that bad once you get to know me, luv,” Enzo retorted.

“Right.”

Enzo looked at everyone, Caroline at his feet, and shook his head. If this was what Bonnie had meant when she had mentioned asking the Originals for help with their Caroline-sized problem could be stepping into even more insanity, she had a knack for understatement. He had been in New Orleans for barely two days and had already decided that these people were the nuttiest bunch of loons he had ever met.

And he was best friends with Damon, so he knew what crazy was really all about.

Klaus squeezed the bridge of nose, his eyes closed as he tried to gather his wits about him. What he had hoped would be a simple evening where he could take Caroline out to feed for a brief night on the town had turned into, yet another, show down between his family members. The only thing missing was one of Kol’s caustic remarks to set them all off again.

“We have a lot to discuss between all of us,” Klaus said finally. “I need to understand what’s happened that would lead a Bennett witch to set fire to a dining room table.” He looked down at Caroline with a sigh. “And someone needs to bring Caroline inside and lock her in a room so that when she wakes up, she doesn’t cause more mayhem.”

At that moment, the door behind Enzo opened. Everyone turned to look at the new interruption with frustration and annoyance, not quite ready for the next chaotic announcement to cause whatever side effects were bound to happen. As Bonnie stepped into the courtyard, taking everything in with a sweeping glance, she said, “I can’t leave you alone for a few hours, can I, Enzo?”

“Sorry about that, luv,” Enzo said cheekily. “You know how much I love to have a good time.”

“Right,” she replied. “So. What did I miss?” She asked as she set the old book in her hands down on the nearest flat surface.

“I think it’s time we all showed each other our cards,” Klaus replied. “We all need things from one another and it’s now time to discuss what we can do for each other.”

“Ah, the typical Klaus,” Bonnie answered. “You scratch my back and I scratch yours? I thought we had already established that.”

“Yes, I’m sure you did,” Rebekah cut in, “but you need to be aware of what’s going on here and how it will impact you… especially since things are evidently not quite all right in Bonnie world.”

Bonnie’s gaze narrowed into slits at Rebekah. “Sure. I guess it’s time to ask why a very powerful witch decided to spy on me last night at the bar and why Davina thinks I should stay with her where I’ll be safe from your madness.” Bonnie shot Klaus a smug smile. “I would definitely like to know what we’ve walked into.”


	11. if you only knew what we've been up to

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie just has to take the vampires by the fangs and force them to tell her what's going on.

Klaus carefully set Caroline down on a settee, pushing her calves in so that she was curled up on the small sofa. Without a thought, he pulled a small blanket down from the back and placed it over Caroline. Bonnie sat down across from her best friend, amused by Klaus’s uncharacteristic behavior. Judging from the looks on his siblings’ faces, she was the only one who found it amusing.

“So, who broke Caroline’s neck?” She asked as the rest of the group situated themselves in the salon. Klaus was leaning back against the arm of the settee, his arms folded over his chest. Elijah was pacing behind her while Rebekah and Marcel had taken up station on a larger couch. Enzo settled down beside her, surreptitiously taking his hand into one of his.

“I did that, luv,” Enzo replied. “She just wouldn’t shut up.”

“Speak of which,” Klaus began, his eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. It was obvious to Bonnie that he wanted to rip Enzo a new one. “If you do that again—”

“Really, Niklaus, we have more important things to be focusing on,” Elijah cut in irritably.

“Elijah,” Klaus began, but was cut off again, this time by Enzo: “I’ll try to keep my neck snaps to a minimum.”

“Well, it’s certainly a lot quieter with her out of commission,” Bonnie replied impishly. Klaus shot her an unamused look, which she returned with a wide smile. “You can’t tell me that, deep down, you aren’t enjoying the break from her constant bitching. ‘Klaus, I just want to have fun.’ ‘Klaus, why are you not letting me go out and cause mayhem in your city?’ ‘Klaus, I found a shiny new skirt that I need you to buy.’ Please.”

“I can always hear much the same from Rebekah, so it hardly matters who is complaining in my ear,” Klaus quipped, a smirk on his face. Rebekah looked like she was going to throw something at him, but chose instead to vent her frustration on her lover, who had of course let out a quick guffaw at Klaus’s rejoinder.

Ignoring the lovebirds, Bonnie said, “I know how hard it is for all of you to be honest for five minutes, so I’ll go first. That way, you guys can see how it’s done.”

“That’s truly unfair, Miss Bennett,” Elijah retorted. “I have told you the truth on a number of occasions.”

“Yes, but you also withhold crucial information if you feel the need.” Bonnie spun slightly in her seat so she could look back at Elijah forcefully. “I can count on a single hand how many times I’ve come away from a meeting with any of you and felt that I was absolutely aware of every facet of what was going on.”

“Not everything need concern you,” Elijah replied stiffly.

“Right,” Bonnie drawled. She turned back around and looked at Klaus as she explained. “As I’ve said, I have had a really—”

“Bonnie, you don’t have to do this, luv,” Enzo said quietly, knowing full well the whole room could hear him. “We can find another way to help Caroline. You shouldn’t have to spill your personal life to them.”

“I think I need to be here, Enzo,” Bonnie explained, looking into his eyes so that he could see the earnestness of what she was saying. “After talking with Davina, I think this was what was supposed to happen. So, if that means that I have to be a little uncomfortable then that’s what I’m going to do.”

“So your visit with Davina went well, I suppose?” Klaus fished.

“We’ll get to that in a minute,” Bonnie replied. She sighed and started again. “As I was saying, my year has been awful. After having gone through some extremely heavy things, I think… no. I have post-traumatic stress disorder. Sometimes that means that if I’m startled or surprised, like Elijah did to me earlier today, then there are some… unexpected side effects.”

“Wait a minute,” Elijah said, coming around the couch so that he could face Bonnie as he spoke. “Are you telling me that you could have set fire to this entire house because you were having a bad mental health day?”

“No,” Bonnie ground out. “I’m telling you that sometimes I have panic attacks, flash backs, and anxiety after everything I’ve been through. I have nightmares. I act out. There are a lot of different things that I go through daily because of my PTSD. The fire-setting was an accident, but in my defense, you _did_ startle a witch. You should really never spook a witch, which you are definitely old enough to know.”

“So any one of us could scare you by walking up behind you and you could set us on fire,” Rebekah said thoughtfully, a lilt of a question in her voice.

“Yes,” Bonnie replied, “But if it makes you feel any better, I would feel really sorry afterwards.” She glanced at each of the Originals in turn with wide, guileless eyes. Enzo bit down on his lip beside her, bowing his head to keep himself from laughing. Judging from the expressions on the Originals’ faces, they did not find her particularly amusing. “I’m doing what I can to control it. Enzo’s helping me, but I have my good days and bad days.”

“What in the _hell_ is happening in Mystic Falls?” Klaus demanded, shooting an irritated glance at his brother’s back. If they had just kept even a single spy in town…

“This didn’t happen in Mystic Falls,” Bonnie answered. “I would up in a prison world one of my ancestor’s made for someone. It… was not a pleasant experience.” Bonnie could feel herself shutting down as she thought about the 1994 world. Enzo squeezed her hand and murmured softly, “just breathe,” beside her.

“Witches can make prison worlds?” Rebekah asked. “I didn’t know that.”

“Considering all of the things that witches have done for and to you, this surprises you?” Bonnie inquired, surprised that they wouldn’t be aware of such a thing.

Then again, as it was a Bennett that had created the prison worlds to begin with, it also made a certain kind of sense. None of her ancestors had been particularly thrilled with the Originals and wouldn’t have gone out of their way to tell them anything.

And as far as she had found, no other witch had ever been able to create a manifestation like the prison worlds her ancestor had crafted. It was probable that there were other witches out in the world who could do such a thing, but she hadn’t heard of them or met them. She was fairly certain that either Vincent or Davina could make one, but if they didn’t come up with it on their own, then they would need a spell already made to create it.

“That’s true,” Elijah said, glancing at his brother. A second later, the three Originals and Marcel were all having an entire silent conversation between each other.

Bonnie stared at them suspiciously before it occurred to her what the silent communication was about. “No, I’m not making one for you,” Bonnie said tiredly. She leaned into Enzo who pulled her in for a one-armed hug of support. She rested her head against his shoulder. “I will gladly trap you three in one so that you could talk out your issues, but other than that, I’m not making you one.”

“We’ll table this discussion for now,” Klaus said thoughtfully.

“Or forever, you know, because I’m not doing it,” Bonnie said, “like I just finished saying out loud for everyone in this room to hear.”

“It could be exactly what we need to prevent Dahlia from taking Hope,” Rebekah explained from her perch. Bonnie shifted so that she could catch a glimpse of her. “Dahlia is extremely powerful though and it may not hold her. But that’s a better plan than what we had yesterday to keep my niece safe.”

“And what exactly was your plan yesterday?” Bonnie asked as Enzo gently stroked his fingers up and down her back.

There was a moment of silence, which Enzo would characterize as embarrassed. “Well, we haven’t really been able to come up with a plan that we all agree to,” Rebekah finally answered.

“I’m really surprised,” Bonnie snarked. “I mean, absolutely amazed that you-all would have a hard time agreeing on something this important.” She rolled her eyes and muttered to Enzo, “God save me from those who cannot help themselves.”

“So dramatic, Bonnie,” Klaus remarked disapprovingly. “Now that you’ve explained what has happened to you, it’s our turn.”  Klaus looked off into the distance before he said, “As you know, I have a daughter named Hope. When Hope was first born, for her safety, we had to send her away and made the world believe that she was dead.

“The threat that forced us to do that has since been neutralized and we brought Hope home to be with us. Since her return however, we have been made aware of a promise that our mother made to her sister, who was a witch.”

Rebekah spoke up: “After I was switched into this body, I found myself in the Fauline Cottage, which is a sort of home for injured or dangerous witches.”

“They have a sanitarium here for witches?” Bonnie gasped, shocked at the prospect. What would it take for someone to be deemed irreparably injured by magic and foisted onto this place?

“Yes,” Rebekah replied. “It’s not a pleasant place. When I was in there, I made the acquaintance of another witch, our sister, Freya. We thought she was dead and didn’t know that she was still alive.”

“If she’s a witch and not a vampire, how did she survive?”

“She is alive because of an immortality spell cast upon her by our maternal aunt. This spell allowed them to live for a year and then to sleep for a hundred years. The spell woke them both shortly after Hope was brought home to New Orleans. Since then we have learned that as part of our mother’s promise, the first of our bloodline would be given to our maternal aunt.”

“To raise as a witch?” Enzo asked, sounding as confused as Bonnie.

“To siphon and use their powers so that she could grow ever more powerful,” Elijah responded. “Dahlia believes that as part of our mother’s promise of Freya, she also gave away the rights to all of the firstborn Mikaelsons. And she is attempting to take her payment so to speak.”

Bonnie leaned back against her seat as she absorbed this information. “So, Dahlia is trying to take Hope away from you as she did with Freya.” Bonnie muttered to herself. She looked up and asked, “Is Freya helping you to stop this?”

“She claims she is,” Klaus responded, “but we have our doubts. We have all been through a great many things and learning of a new sibling is rather fantastic. However, Freya’s plans have yet to be revealed and we cannot be sure that we can trust her.”

“I trust her,” Rebekah objected. “She’s my sister and I know that she is trying to do what is in her niece’s best interest.”

“And I believe that she is going to help us,” Elijah agreed.

Bonnie and Enzo shared a look. Before Klaus could come up with some scathing retort no doubt about how gullible his siblings were, Enzo asked, “And you’ve asked this sister of yours what her plans are, right?”

“No, Enzo, we thought it would be wonderful to stay in the dark,” Rebekah bitched.

Marcel said, “The Mikaelsons have asked her what her plans are, but she’s keeping everything close to the vest. She’s not sure if she can trust them.” Marcel shrugged. “It’s hard to both earn the trust of a Mikaelson and to trust them in turn. I can’t really fault her for being so cagey.”

“You may not, Marcel, but _I_ can,” Klaus retorted. “She plays this game of hers and keeps us in the dark and for what? To supposedly protect my daughter from Dahlia.”

“Have any of you met Dahlia yet?” Bonnie asked. The three of them shook their heads. “Do you know what she looks like? Has she tried to spy on any of you?”

“We have protections in place to keep her out of our home and in the dark about what we are planning,” Elijah answered. “We have all been protected against her being able to spy on us or to even know where Hope is at the moment. Both the wolf pack where Hope is with her mother and here cannot be broached easily. However, we do not know what she looks like or even when she’ll come.”

“Is it possible that this aunt isn’t aware of Hope yet?” Bonnie asked. “If she’s drawn to the blood of a Mikaelson that can wield magic then as long as you prevent Hope from using magic…” Bonnie trailed off as she caught the expressions on everyone’s faces. “Okay, so she’s already started using magic?”

“She’s done a few small things, but nothing too overt,” Klaus agreed.

“Have you thought of stripping her of her powers?” Bonnie asked. “I know it’s not the best suggestion but it would at least keep Dahlia from finding her before she falls asleep again.”

“And then we lose Freya because the same spell that keep our aunt alive, keeps our sister alive,” Rebekah said. She shook her head. “I know that my brothers do not fully believe or trust her, but I would… I would like to know my sister.”

“As would I,” Elijah replied.

Klaus rolled his eyes. “All of this familial sentiment overwhelms me,” he snapped sarcastically. “But the point to hand is to protect Hope first and then perhaps, if we have time, we’ll free Freya.”

“We could probably do both, Klaus,” Bonnie said drily. She sat back in her seat for a moment. “When I met with Davina, I told her about how I was spied on last night by a very powerful witch. I wasn’t sure who it was but I’m wondering if it’s either your sister or your aunt.” Bonnie looked up at Klaus before meeting the gazes of Marcel, Rebekah, and Elijah. “I have plenty of magical ability but I can assure you that I am no match against her.”

“Which means that Klaus’s plan to use you in this battle against our aunt will get us nowhere,” Elijah concluded.

Bonnie glared at the eldest Original. “I didn’t say that I wouldn’t be able to help out; I just said that if it were a magical battle between this person and me, I would lose.” She shrugged. “And if the presence I felt was truly Dahlia, then it makes sense. She’s been practicing magic for longer than all of you have been alive and I’m not even 20. Give me a thousand years and then we’ll talk about how powerful I could become.”

“I think the prison world may be our best bet,” Rebekah said finally. “Could you make one if we needed you to?”

“Yes, I could,” Bonnie said warily, “but I would prefer that to be a last resort. Why haven’t you asked the local witches for help?”

Klaus snorted. “The witches of New Orleans are tempestuous as best, Bonnie. They would be more likely to hand us over than to help us out.”

“I forgot all about your penchant for making new friends wherever you go,” Bonnie replied, rolling her eyes. “I bet if you very nicely asked Davina, she would be willing to help out... although you would no doubt have to give her something pretty big for it.” Bonnie smiled at Klaus. “She _really_ doesn’t like you.”

“She has good reason,” Marcel answered.

Klaus rolled his eyes. “She’s lucky I suffer her to live,” Klaus retorted haughtily.

“Oh yes, you really are great at making friends, Klaus,” Bonnie answered. She closed her eyes, massaging her temples gently while she tried to think. When she opened her eyes and looked up, her gaze landed on Caroline. A thought came to her. “You know… if there is one person in this room who we need to have in on a pow-wow like this, it’s Caroline.”

“Why do we need Caroline?” Marcel asked.

“Oh, mate,” Enzo said, “Caroline is the queen of plans. She’s organized to a fault and a right pain in the arse when it comes to seeing things through.” Klaus looked down at Caroline, surprised that he hadn’t thought of it himself. “Of course, getting her to agree to come up with a plan to save both your daughter’s and sister’s lives is going to be difficult enough without her humanity switch turned off.”

“That could come in handy though,” Bonnie replied. “She’s going to be less worried about people getting hurt and more interested in getting the job done.” Bonnie sighed. “Of course, we’d probably have to keep lying to her about who Hope’s mother is because who knows if she’d be willing to help out when she finds out it’s Hayley? I mean, no offense Klaus, but she _really_ hates Hayley on her best day.”

“I think we have more to worry about from the fact that she has no humanity, luv,” Enzo cut in. Bonnie shrugged, biting her lower lip as she tried to imagine what Caroline would say if they asked.

“I think we need to ask her to see what she says. She may or may not help. I would recommend making it sound like it will be fun and exciting since that’s all she’s been blabbing about since we got down here,” Bonnie said. “And while we work on that, I think we should probably ask Freya what she’s up to. I could create a spell that would force her to tell the truth if we can get her to come here.”

“I could do that,” Rebekah offered.

Bonnie nodded. “And as a backup, Klaus should apologize to Davina for whatever he did to her so that we have the New Orleans witches on our side. I know that probably really isn’t something you want to consider, Klaus, but it’s better to have more people available to protect your daughter, not less.”

“We have enough witches in the mix,” Klaus began.

“No, you don’t,” Bonnie said tiredly. She was beginning to feel like she had run a marathon. “If Freya told you that your aunt is powerful, she was understating it. I can’t stress to you how much more powerful this witch is if the presence I felt last night is really her. I know you won’t take my warning seriously because that’s just not how you people operate, but you need more allies, not fewer.”

“We will take that under advisement, Miss Bennett,” Elijah said stoically even as Klaus was shooting daggers at Bonnie.

“So…” Bonnie said as awkward silence descended on them. “Does this mean that you’re okay with my less than stellar control and that I can stay while you actually do what you said and try to help Caroline?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My... where are Hope, Hayley, and Jackson...?


	12. dive down deeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayley, Jackson, and Hope come back in from the swamp; Bonnie and Enzo have a heart-to-heart.

After the meeting had adjourned, Enzo had watched Bonnie anxiously, waiting to see what sort of reaction she would have. She had spilled some of her secrets to the Originals and sometimes, when she talked about what was eating her alive, it could get worse for her. He had seen her open her mouth and whisper to him in the dead of night about whatever was hurting her and then have a panic attack hours later.

But to Enzo’s surprise, Bonnie seemed to be holding up admirably. After she had put a book away in her room, she had asked him to take her out for dinner since she was hungry. She had tossed him one of those carefree smiles she seemed to hoard from the world and he thought that he would do anything she asked if she only kept smiling at him that way.

Galant as ever, Enzo had offered her his arm and led her down to the courtyard below. As they were coming down the stairs, the doors opened to admit two adults and a baby through the arched entrance way.

As they finished descending the stairs, Bonnie came to a stop and released Enzo’s arm from her grasp. Hayley came into the courtyard with her daughter on her hip, whispering baby talk at the little girl as she walked. Behind her, a rugged man walked protectively behind Hayley. The look on Hayley’s face when she glanced back at him made Bonnie think that they were seeing each other. When Hayley turned back around, she came to an abrupt halt when her eyes landed on Bonnie.

“Hey Bonnie, wh-what are you doing here?” Hayley asked, pushing her daughter towards the man behind her so that her arms were free. Enzo eyed the man behind her wearily, sensing the wolf that boiled beneath the surface. Bonnie had told him that Hayley was a werewolf, too, but all he could sense from her was the same frenetic energy that seemed to infuse Klaus’s being.

“Oh, I’m on vacation,” Bonnie lied. “I decided I needed to get away from it all and Klaus was very kind about letting me use one of his spare rooms. He’s got at least a dozen so it’s not like I’ll be in the way, right?”

“Right,” Hayley drawled, her gaze flickering between Bonnie and Enzo.

“This is my friend, Enzo,” Bonnie added into the silence between them. She gestured to Enzo who offered a small hand wave.

“Where’s Klaus?” Hayley asked, concern dimpling her brow as she shot Jackson a warning look over her shoulder. What she had done in Mystic Falls could have been forgiven, if she had asked for it. Any of the friends from the Falls would have gladly forgiven her, she was sure of that, if she had only stopped and requested it.

But she had done what she had felt she had to do. And out of all of it, she had caused a lot of trouble for both Bonnie and Tyler. She had never really expected to meet up with any of them again, assuming that it was over. But with Bonnie here, there was no telling what sort of trouble she was going to run into.

She knew she deserved whatever Bonnie threw at her. A deep part, the part she tried to ignore in the dead of night when she was lambasting herself for her own foolishness yet again, always told her that out of everyone in Mystic Falls that she had wronged, it would be Bonnie that she should watch out for. Young witch or no, she wasn’t one to mess around with.

Bonnie smiled at her before saying, “I’m just kidding about being on vacation. Klaus is helping me out with something.” She glanced back into the compound thoughtfully before adding, “He is most likely making sure that problem is down for the count since she’s not going to wake up particularly happy.

“But that’s a good thing. It gives us time to talk and gives me time to figure out if there’s anything I can do for Hope,” Bonnie continued, looking earnestly at Hayley.

“Uh Bon,” Enzo murmured beside her, “I thought you were hungry.” She waved him off as she continued to hold Hayley’s gaze with her own.

Whatever feelings of anger she had once harbored for the young wolf had long ago faded in the heat of everything else that had come after Hayley’s betrayal. She could, if she so desired, blame Hayley for whatever had eventually happened to her in the prison world, but Bonnie knew it just as much her own choices as Hayley’s that had brought her there.

And at the end of the day, it was in fact her very own grandmother, making sure that she survived the destruction of the Other Side, which had really brought her there. Grams had been trying to help. The only ones to truly blame would be Kai for his psychopathy and herself for the choices she had made when she had delved into Expression that brought her to where she had wound up.

“I asked Klaus to call you and have you come to New Orleans so I could meet Hope,” Bonnie explained, seeing the distrust in Hayley’s eyes. She couldn’t blame her, but Bonnie was enjoying – just a little bit – the anxiety she could see in Hayley’s body. She wouldn’t let her know that after so many days alone in the prison world, she had rid herself of the anger she had felt at Hayley’s betrayal just yet. She would eventually but not quite yet. “I’m hoping I can find something that may keep Dahlia off her scent for a bit while we come up with a plan to keep the baby safe.”

“Klaus told you what’s happening?” Hayley asked, even more confused now. Klaus didn’t share anything with anyone unless he had a reason to do so. While she could appreciate the strength and ability of the Bennett witch, she wasn’t sure that Bonnie could really help. And why was this friend of Bonnie’s in the mix? What had he done to earn Klaus’s trust? “Why would he do that?”

“Klaus is helping me with a Caroline-sized problem,” Bonnie explained. “She flipped her humanity switch and I need someone to talk her into turning it back on. He seemed like the best possibility.”

“Caroline is here too?” Hayley demanded. “And without her humanity? And he wanted me to bring our daughter _here_?” Hayley was dazed, not quite sure what part she should be angrier about.

It sounded exactly like something Klaus would do though which had her relaxing slightly that this wasn’t some elaborate joke. But of course, this went back to Klaus yet again not thinking about the safety of their daughter or taking it seriously.

Didn’t he know that Caroline harbored her ill will, too? Didn’t he realize that she could kill their daughter without a glance backward? It was cold comfort knowing that between the two of them, Caroline would never live to see another sunrise if that happened.

“I’m sorry, but what is going on?” Jackson finally cut in, confused by the conversation. He knew just enough about Hayley to keep his curiosity satisfied for a while but then something new came out of nowhere and he was left lost again. While he never expected her to share all of her secrets with him after they were married, he had expected _some_ information at least. It felt like he knew nothing about her.

“This is my husband, Jackson,” Hayley said mechanically, stepping back so that they were side by side.

“Husband?” Bonnie asked, startled. She looked at Enzo, her eyes wide with her own surprise. She hadn’t expected Hayley to marry someone, let alone a wolf. She had assumed the man behind her was a bodyguard given to her by Klaus.

Enzo reacted first by stepping forward, hand outstretched. He took Jackson’s hand in his own before the man could react and shook it. “Congratulations, mate,” Enzo said seriously. He smiled at the both of them before stepping back.

“Yes, yes,” Bonnie agreed, dazed by the news. “Congratulations.” A secret part of her was thinking about what marriage to a werewolf would be like. She also had to ask why Klaus would have allowed it. It didn’t seem like Klaus and Hayley were together since it was very clear that he still held a world of affection for Caroline. Even if they weren’t together, wouldn’t he have rather the mother of his child dote on his every whim relating to that child as opposed to up and marrying someone else?

It seemed like she was learning something new every day about the supernatural world in New Orleans and she couldn’t keep up. She was beginning to feel like she was overloaded. “I’m sorry; I just wasn’t expecting that,” Bonnie explained, hoping that they wouldn’t be offended that she hadn’t offered them her congratulations immediately.

“It’s quite all right,” Jackson responded not unkindly. “Look, Klaus asked us to come in from the swamp in the middle of the night for something. He asked us to bring Hope and said that it had to do with her. So you’re telling us that he wanted us here so that you could meet and greet with her?”

Bonnie shook her head. “No, he asked you to bring her in to New Orleans so that I could see what sort of spells I would need to cast in an effort to keep her safe from Dahlia. Since Klaus is helping me with my friend, Caroline, I am going to help him as best I can with his aunt problem. I figured the first thing I needed to do was to see how powerful his daughter is and then see what sort of protections she’s had put around her.”

“No offense, lady, but I’m not letting you near Hope until I hear this from Klaus himself,” Jackson said, again not unkindly. “For all I know, you’re actually working for this aunt of his.”

“None taken,” Bonnie replied softly, squeezing Enzo’s hand before letting it go. The way he had stiffened in response to what Jackson was saying made her think perhaps a breather for all of them was in order.

“I don’t think she is, Jackson; Bonnie doesn’t seem the type to sacrifice little children,” Hayley interjected. The two of them had a silent conversation before Hayley added, “But I would like to hear all this from Klaus too.”

“That’s fine,” Bonnie replied with a shrug. “I was going to go out to eat anyway.” She took Enzo’s hand again and offered the wolf couple a small smile. “When we get back, hopefully Klaus will have been able to tear himself away from Caroline long enough to explain what’s going on.”

Enzo took the lead then, pulling Bonnie past the couple. “It was a pleasure to meet you,” he ground out on autopilot as they walked by.

“You too,” Hayley parroted back as Bonnie and Enzo left the compound.

“So that’s Hayley,” Enzo said thoughtfully. “I’ve heard of her, but never thought I’d actually get to meet her. I always expected a set of horns with how evil Caroline had made her out to be.”

Bonnie rolled her eyes. “Caroline has a gift for hyperbole when she’s on a tear about something,” Bonnie said, laughing. “She really couldn’t stand Hayley. She blamed her for what happened between her and Tyler.”

“And would you give credence to that interpretation?” Enzo inquired, carefully taking Bonnie’s arm and wrapping it around his own again as they strode down the street.

Bonnie lifted her free hand and wiggled it back and forth. “A little of column A, a little of column B,” she replied. “Caroline jumped to conclusions, assuming that Tyler had cheated on her with Hayley when they met in the mountains. That’s going to give anyone a bad impression even if it’s the wrong one.”

“So Tyler was faithful all that time?” Enzo fished, intrigued. He didn’t know why the hybrid who had managed to remove his sire bond to Klaus fascinated him as he did. There was something about Tyler that made Enzo think that he could be a very powerful ally if the need ever arose.

“Tyler probably would have given Caroline the sun and moon, but he was too focused on what he had going on to give her what she needed,” Bonnie said finally. “I mean, they were good together. Well, _she_ was good for him anyway. But at the end of the day, Caroline wanted to help Tyler and he wasn’t willing to let her.”

“It would have been dangerous for Caroline, no?” Enzo inquired as they continued their casual stroll down the street. The air was perfumed with ten thousand different scents and the night life was beginning to pick up in earnest. Down the street, he could hear a jazz band playing to the crowds.

“They had managed to get through a lot of hardships when they were first together,” Bonnie replied. “So I think that if Tyler had let her go with him, they could have figured it out. But he never gave her the chance. Caroline was always second to whatever problems Tyler was having instead of working on it together. And that is, really, the fundamental reason about why they aren’t together today.

“It wasn’t a true partnership like a relationship is supposed to be,” Bonnie added. “If I ever get into another relationship that is exactly what I’ll be looking for. Someone who I can rely on and who can rely on me, no matter what cockamamie thing is going on.” Enzo looked over at Bonnie and could see the intense expression on her face; she meant what she said.

Enzo tried to picture what life would be like if Bonnie ended up with another romantic entanglement and found himself irrationally jealous at the person who would snap her up. In the months since she had come back, Bonnie had become something of a cornerstone to his day-to-day living. Without realizing it, he had found that he looked forward to the first sarcastic comment, the first smile that Bonnie gifted him with each morning.

Deciding that a change in subject was a good idea, Enzo asked, “So how was this meeting with the Regent of New Orleans?”

“It was actually pretty good,” Bonnie answered immediately. She became far more animated as they continued their walk. “Her name is Davina and I think she’s like 16 to be honest. She is _so_ young and I have no idea how she became the most powerful witch in the entire city. I bet that’s a story and a half.”

“I’ll see what I can find out,” Enzo murmured. If nothing else, he was good about finding things out.

“The reason she actually wanted to see me is about a Resurrection Spell that she found in one of my ancestors’ grimoires, and not what I had thought we were meeting for. Apparently Vincent wants to breathe ‘new life and prestige’” – Bonnie used air quotes at this – “into the name of the Regent or something, so he kind of lied when he invited me to meet her.

“And they knew I was a Bennett witch from the start,” she added. “Maybe the Regent has some sort of super power that gives them to the ability to tell what witch bloodline you stem from?” Bonnie had wondered how they had known since she hadn’t announced it and she didn’t think there was an online forum where witches went and told each other stories. Then again, considering the magic of the Internet itself, maybe they did and there was a password protected Wiki page out there about her and all the shenanigans she had both done and gone through?

She hadn’t wanted to cause any trouble when she had been with Davina, so had decided to table the subject until a later day.

“And you’re all right with them knowing this information? And having lied to get you to meet with this Davina?”

Bonnie waved her free hand, as if wiping away everything he had just said. “I’m not worried about it. Davina is trying to bring someone back from the dead – she wouldn’t tell me who – and she needed my help with the Resurrection Spell she found. It’s an early version of the spell I’ve used,” she added.

“So… if she tries to use it, someone dies.” Enzo had only heard second hand about the Resurrection Spell Bonnie had used previously. She had brought her boyfriend back from the dead and had died for her pain. True, she wound up finding a way back from all of that, but with the Other Side destroyed, there would be no coming back from it this time. Enzo couldn’t tell if the reason he was disturbed by discussions of the spell were due to an irrational fear that Bonnie would wind up dead again with no out clause or something else.

“I told her that,” Bonnie said as they stopped outside of the bar, Rousseau’s. Bonnie looked inside at the press of people and pulled Enzo further down the street. “She said that she would keep that in mind before using the spell, but there’s no telling if she would try to use it anyway. I got the feeling that this was sort of a backup plan.”

“A backup plan to what?” Enzo wondered.

“I’m not sure,” Bonnie admitted, stopping again in the middle of the street. She turned to face Enzo. “And I wasn’t about to ask. Even with all of that, I had fun meeting with her. She’s witty and nice, even if she hates the Originals.”

“Why does she hate the Originals?”

“Well, I got a brief synopsis of that and it sounds to me like Klaus has made her life hell from the get-go, which makes sense. He’s made everyone’s life miserable at some point or another; it’s almost like a side effect of his very existence.”

“That’s a cheerful picture you paint, luv,” Enzo replied. “I’m terribly glad that we made the decision to willingly come down here then.”

Bonnie stopped in the middle of the crowds, studying Enzo. “So does that mean you think we should leave? Caroline probably isn’t going to change back. Even though Klaus seems to think he can help, I don’t think he really can. Caroline is as stubborn today as she was with her switch flipped on. If she doesn’t want to come back to us then she probably isn’t going to.

“I honestly think he’s just pulling my leg because he wants me around to help him out with his aunt problem.”

“I didn’t say that,” Enzo said quietly. He glanced around at the crowds that had developed and pushed her back a little so that they were out of the way. Standing beside an empty alley he continued. “The only concern I have is what all of this might end up doing to _you_. You’re doing much better than you were when you first came back, but as you yourself admitted, you have your good days and your bad days.

“I’ve seen the bad days, Bonnie Bennett, and if there is any way I can prevent more bad days from coming, I will do it.” Bonnie was taken aback by the intensity of his expression as he swore this to her. She knew that Enzo cared about her – sometimes she thought he cared about her more than the rest of her friends did.

It was Enzo who spent the nights with her, making sure that she wasn’t alone when the snarls in her mind wouldn’t stop. It was Enzo who woke her up in the middle of the nightmare, carefully murmuring words of comfort until she came back to herself. It was Enzo who had been by her side, whether she wanted him there or not, when the worst of the panic attacks had robbed her of breath, of thought, and of reason.

“I swear, Lorenzo St. John, that if things get worse, we’ll leave so that I don’t have any more bad days than I already do,” she promised. “We’ll leave Caroline here and head back home where we belong.”

Enzo nodded in agreement, staring down into her beautiful eyes. He wasn’t sure when it had happened, but at some point he had come to care about Bonnie almost as much as he had once cared about Damon. It was something that hadn’t manifested overnight to be sure, but he thought that if something were to happen to Bonnie, he would go mad with the level of his own grief. He knew what madness was; he had lived inside of it for long enough during his time with the Augustine Society and he knew that he would rather kill himself even with no Other Side for him to go to than to turn back into that again.

He took her face into his hands, his gaze wide and guileless as his eyes held hers. Ever so slowly, his face came down to meet hers and then he was lightly pressing a single kiss to her lips. “That promise is sealed with a kiss now, Bon,” he said softly, pulling away to catch the glimmer of surprise in her eyes. “Promises sealed with kisses are unbreakable vows, no?”

“If you say so,” she replied, shaken by the kiss. Enzo had held her, comforted her, made fun of her, cajoled her, annoyed her, had seen her at her very worst, and ten thousand other things since she had come back from the prison world in an effort to help her when no one else would. But he had never kissed her before. The left over tingle on her lips was unmistakable. She needed a moment to figure out what this meant

 “Let’s go find dinner,” she said instead, pulling him close to her as she turned back towards the crowds.


	13. stupidly think you had it under control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Klaus and Caroline come to an understanding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: date rape mention

Caroline moved from asleep to awake in a matter of seconds. As she focused on the ceiling above her, she realized that someone had deposited her in the bedroom she had been assigned. As she recognized where she was, she remembered Enzo’s hand on her neck before she felt the white hot flash that precipitated having one’s next broken. Her hands clenched into fists at her side and she was up a second later.

She lay there for a moment, trying to figure out why everyone seemed so against her all the time. If she hadn’t decided that she needed a year as this emotionless vampire, she probably would have given in to her friends’ entreaties. They all made good points, but at the end of the day, she knew that she couldn’t face what would happen when she finally turned her humanity back on.

Her friends were being selfish asking to make her relive the horror of her mother’s death, the deaths of those people at her and Stefan’s machinations, again and again. Elena, Damon, Bonnie, Enzo, and Stefan all knew what was waiting for her and they kept harping at it. They wouldn’t let it go, just like they did when Elena flipped her switch. It was annoying and rude and one day, she might understand where they were coming from.

But as she lay there in the comfortable bed that she had been given for this little impromptu adventure, all she kept thinking was that they were all selfish. Knowing full well what would happen, they kept demanding that she turn her humanity back on. If she felt any pettiness, she wouldn’t turn her humanity on at all.

So she had changed; she got that.

To be perfectly honestly, she hadn’t _really_ expected too much of a difference in who she was with her humanity and who she was without it. She could do without the empathy that managed to get her into situations all the time. She could do with a little more pragmatism anyway. But the creature she was today was still Caroline Forbes, daughter of… well, Caroline Forbes anyway. She just liked fun more and self-sacrifice a lot less. Why was that so hard to understand?

Caroline sat up on the bed with a groan, rubbing the back of her neck. She was going to get Enzo back for that eventually. She didn’t know when and she didn’t really care in all honesty, but just because he had been clearly having too much fun snapping her neck in recent days, he deserved to have his neck snapped too. Or worse. He should have learned by now that he should not mess with her unless he wanted to suffer for it.

After rubbing her face to clear her thoughts, Caroline glanced up and realized that Klaus was sitting in a darkened corner of her bedroom. He hadn’t looked up once from the sketchpad at his knee as he made wide sweeping strokes of his pencil. She glanced at the door, wondering if she should even bother getting up and trying to leave. If Klaus didn’t want her to leave her room then she wasn’t going anywhere.

Caroline decided that escape and fun could wait. Right then she needed a nice shower, something that would make her feel clean and refreshed, ready to take on the night and maybe a little neck snapping for Enzo if the chance presented itself. Besides, she was beginning to get hungry again and would need to hunt eventually before the night was over. She needed to make sure she looked as adorable as she knew she could be to draw in the cutest frat boys to feed on.

Without another glance at Klaus, Caroline carefully picked out what she felt would be most appropriate for a good night’s hunt. She found lacy underthings that had, of course, been a very sweet gift from Klaus’s credit card. To go with the ensemble, she chose a knee length flirty skirt in a light blue color that had swirled around her when she had spun around in rapid circles after trying it on.

As she entered the bathroom, she couldn’t help but look back at Klaus to see if he had taken notice of what she had grabbed out of her personal drawer. He still seemed focused on whatever he was drawing though. Disappointed, Caroline disappeared into the immense bathroom that she shared with Bonnie.

Klaus noticed dimly that Caroline hadn’t bothered to shut the bathroom door all the way. A part of him wanted to get up and shut it, to give her the privacy that Caroline with her humanity on would desire. The other part of him, the one that had felt his blood pressure rise when he caught sight of the lacy black underthings she had pulled out of the drawer, decided that it would be better to leave the door open.

He was trying desperately to be a gentleman to all of humanity-less Caroline’s flirting. The micro skirt she had worn to her appointment with Camille along with the low cut tank top had made it almost impossible to focus on driving, much less on whatever ridiculous thing Caroline had brought up on their drive both to and from that appointment. Somehow he had managed to come off, he hoped, as calm and collected.

All he had really wanted to do was throw her into the backseat of his SUV and let things take their course.

He had realized the moment that Bonnie had asked if he could help her friend that it would be difficult to keep himself from giving in to Caroline’s advances. He had had no doubts that she would try to pick up where they had left off after their impromptu meeting in the woods and he had been right. What he hadn’t taken into consideration was how addicted he would become with just that slight taste for his sweet Caroline.

The constant silent reminders he had given himself that this was not his sweet Caroline but a temporary interloper in her body, one without her kindness and tenderness, had been enough so far. But he wasn’t honestly sure if he could keep it up. She was like a drug and no matter how many reminders he gave himself, it was getting harder and harder to keep himself under the careful control he was so proud of.

She set his blood on fire in a way that all the other lovers who had come before her could have never done. He had never felt this way for a woman, no matter what he had told them when he was with those other women. Caroline had been right on the money when she told him as she lay dying in front of him that he was in love with her.

He had done her and her friends wrong time and time again, but he had always known that when it came to Caroline, he would love her for the eternity he had promised her. There was something about her that made him feel like he could fly. It was as exhilarating as the first time he had turned into the wolf and twice as terrifying as that first change. She held his heart in her hands and she could crush it with a twitch of her fingers if she so chose.

But he knew that she wouldn’t.

He realized then that he had to come up with rules. If she kept this up, he knew he was going to break. He could feel his desire for her like a powerful lure just beneath the surface. She deserved a good man and he was trying to be one, but she would keep pushing. Slowly, reminding himself that he needed to be all that he could be for her, even if she wasn’t in her right mind, he crossed the room and quietly shut the door.

Perhaps that was a step in the right direction; perhaps not.

Caroline climbed out of the oversized shower stall and began carefully working on her skincare, making sure that her favorite toner and serum were easily accessible once she had washed her face. After seeing to her skin routine, she began poking through the various facial moisturizers she had bought at a drug store during her shopping spree the day before. Picking one out at random, she applied it carefully and then waved at her face to make sure it dried evenly.

Once she had finished seeing to her face, she got dressed as far as she could. Realizing that she had forgotten – or was it “forgotten” – to grab a delectablouldy adorable top to go with her fun and flirty skirt, she bit on her lip as she tried to figure out what to do. She desperately wanted to get Klaus as riled as possible, but she also wasn’t sure how he would react when he saw her half naked.

He had made it clear he was interested, but not at the moment because of the whole humanity absurdity, which was completely ridiculous. She was the same person she had been before she had flipped the switch just with more blood cravings and fewer compulsions to save the world. Okay, so she wasn’t really the same person at all because she didn’t really care that Stefan had goaded her into hurting innocent people, but at the end of the day, she was still as cute as ever… maybe even more so.

Deciding that she was going to get this over with now instead of later, she spun around and noticed that the bathroom door was shut. She had consciously left it open, wondering if Klaus would try to take a peek or not. The fact that he had shut the door while she had been in the shower annoyed her. She had wanted the old, terrible Klaus to push and prod about how much she wanted him, burning her with his searing gaze.

Instead, she was getting this… wimpy Klaus. This being who would close the door so as not to accidentally spy on her or seemed completely oblivious to all of her advances. She had casually brushed his hair back from his face when they had been driving and he had absentmindedly taken her hand, put a chaste kiss on the back of it, and set it down on the console between them. He had even patted it affectionately as they drove! What sort of hot blooded man could possibly ignore all of her carefully choreographed flirtations?

She was going to get what she wanted, damn it.

The bathroom door opened and Caroline strode out like she owned the place. Klaus carefully kept his gaze glued to the page he was drawing on, but caught a glimpse of something pale blue in his peripheral. When he finally looked up, he was startled to see Caroline half naked and walking towards him with a purpose he couldn’t quite ignore.

The lacy balconette bra she wore above the frothy blue skirt carefully cupped her, pulling her breasts up to an enticing degree. Her tawny skin beside the black scrap of fabric was hypnotic. The way her legs swished against the fabric made his mouth water. He wanted to devour her with everything he had.

But as his eyes traveled back up her body, his gaze fixed on hers and he saw, again, what was missing. The essential spark that was all Caroline was gone from the storm tossed blue eyes that pierced him. That spark spoke to him both as a man and as the beast he was. It calmed him and lulled him; it bewitched him in a way that witches could never hope to achieve with their love potions. Without it, he felt like he was looking at half a person instead of the full Caroline he desired.

Before he could move or think, she was on him. Straddling his hips with her legs, her skirt pulled up so that she could maneuver above him easily, she pressed her mouth down on his. He felt like he was going to explode if he didn’t take her, his wolf roaring at the feel of her pressed down against him. Slowly, she began to ride him through his jeans.

He kept trying to tell himself that this wasn’t Caroline. This was just a fill-in, a stand-in who looked and smelled and tasted just like her, but his body wasn’t listening to what he was trying to tell himself. He felt like he was losing his mind.

“Caroline,” Klaus gasped as she pulled back to nibble at his lower lip. She found the breathlessness of his voice endearing and wanted to see how far he would let her go before he put a stop to it. She knew that he would stop her eventually; he had been trying to make it clear since she woke up yesterday that he wouldn’t take advantage of her when she was, as he put it, “not in complete control.” What a laugh; she was in complete control and of him… hm…

She slipped the fingers of her right hand between the fingers of his left before lifting his hand to her lace covered breast. Spasmodically, his fingers cupped her breast and she moaned against his mouth. She tightened the grip she held on the back of his head, keeping his mouth pressed to hers as long as she could. He could break away from her whenever he wanted, she knew, but she was pleased that he hadn’t stopped her yet.

“Oh please stop being so gallant, Klaus, and fuck me,” she whispered as she slid her lips away from his, moving towards his ear. She nibbled lightly on the lobe, breathing gently into his ear before she pulled back to speak again. “I’ve been fantasizing about our time in the woods, _love_ ; I want to feel that satisfied again.”

Klaus felt whatever control he still somehow had over himself beginning to slip even further. He knew that if he didn’t move her off of him, he was going to give in. The constant reminders that this was not truly Caroline were beginning to sound like background noise. His body was having a hard time catching up to the fact that this wasn’t what he wanted.

With a strength of will that he truly did not feel, he put his hands on her biceps and pushed her away from his ear even while he was berating himself for listening to the voice in his head and not the one whispering about fucking in his ear.

“Caroline,” he said more forcefully. “I have told you that I will not take advantage of you in this state.” She looked down at him, her lower lip stuck out slightly while her mismatched eyes seared him with her desire. “I appreciate your attentions truly, luv, but I will not let you do this to yourself.”

“Really, Klaus? I’m cute, single, and D.T.F. What is wrong with you?” She demanded. Klaus wanted to ask her what “D.T.F.” meant but had the distinct impression it had something to do with the way she was moving her hips over his engorged penis. Grinding his teeth, he pushed her back again until she was fully off of his lap.

He stood up then so that she couldn’t hop back into his lap. “I have told you again and again, sweetheart, why I refuse to let you do this to yourself. I will not remind you again,” he said as sternly as his nerves could stand. “I will not, as you so crassly put it, ‘fuck’ you while you are like this.”

“What? Would you rather we make sweet, sweet love?” She teased. Klaus gritted his teeth again, trying to pull himself back under control. “Maybe I should take you out into the woods, then? You seemed a lot less in control then.”

Klaus’s eyes flashed at the reminder of what had happened between them so many months ago. Caroline held her breath, realizing that finally she was going to get what she wanted. He was going to give in to her attempts and the annoying itch that she had wanted to scratch would finally go away so that she could move on to the next.

The wolf deep down had had enough of her taunting, of her demanding, and he fought back a growl that burned his throat as he swallowed it back down. The wolf deep down didn’t understand why she taunted and why he refused to get in. As he stalked towards her, wondering if this is when he would fail her yet again, a thought wormed through the beast that was so close to the surface. He thought for a moment that it was possible he could turn this to his advantage.

Caroline was so focused on passion and fire that she was forgetting that Klaus, as she knew deep down, had feelings for her. She had forgotten or didn’t care that he wasn’t looking for something to pass the time like she was; he was looking for more.

Though no one fully understood it, least of all him, he wanted all that he had promised her when he said he wanted to be her final love. He wanted her love and affection; he wanted her to stand by his side eventually and that animal sense of his knew that if he did what she wanted, it may never come to pass.

As he stopped in front of her, he could see the desire burning in her eyes. She parted her lips with her tongue, licking the soft flesh of her mouth tantalizingly. Deep within the mismatched depths, he could also see the satisfaction burning there. She thought she had won this round and would finally get what she wanted.

He stood before her for a moment longer and then very gently took her face between his hands. The penetrating golden-blue stare locked on her gaze softened. Gone was the fire and passion of the woods and she felt a thrill of unease in her belly.

She saw in the depths something else, something that made her heartrate pick up in a way that had little to do with passion or fire. Slowly he leaned forward and laved her lips with his tongue. She opened her mouth to tell him to stop what he was doing, to tell him that he had won this round when he slid his mouth onto hers.

As he held her face, the pressure of his mouth went from the white-hot demanding need of just a few moments ago to something tender and sweet. He gently pressed his mouth down to hers, showing her as much as he could that this was less about sex and more about what he felt for her.  Realizing what he was doing – using her own hormones against her – she tried to restart the passionate kiss, but he refused to give her even that.

With his warm lips against her, his hands cradling her face, and she thought she would burst from it.

This was too close to what Caroline-with-her-humanity wanted: love. Someone who could both excite and someone who she could act out fantasies with but also, who could make love to her like she was the most precious commodity on the planet. She felt her heart stutter under his carefully planned tenderness.

She had seen in his eyes the amber color fleeing before he stopped in front of her. It was almost like she could see his soul in the soft blue depths of his eyes. Gone was the savageness of their encounter months ago. In its place, she had seen something that she might have called love if she could give it any thought.

She tried to pull away again, but his arms refused to budge. It was like his hands were locked into a vise grip and she knew that unless he wanted to let her go, she wasn’t going anywhere. She began to panic, terrified about what this would mean. She could feel not only her body respond to his gentle kisses, but something else as well.

Deep down, the flutter of her heart was like a freight train. In the back of her mind, she could feel something prickling. It was a strange sensation, but she knew instinctively that her humanity was back there, waiting in the recesses for it to rear its ugly head. She felt true fear pierce through her at the thought that with a gentle kiss, Klaus could return her back to the way she had been. It was Snow White’s fairy tale – waiting on true love’s kiss – and it was almost enough to break her.

Klaus finally pulled away from her again, gently disentangling her legs from his and leaving her the breathless one this time. She closed her eyes, pushing away that something deep inside that was clawing to get out. When she opened her eyes, she found that he wasn’t standing all that far away from her. He was watching her intently and before either of them knew what she was going to do, she had slapped him hard enough to rock his head back. “Don’t you dare do that again,” she snarled at him.

Klaus stepped back from her again, reaching up to touch his stinging cheek thoughtfully. He had seen the terror in her gaze when he had pulled away from her so he wasn’t overly surprised by her reaction. He thought he had also seen what may have been her spark deep within the storm-tossed depths before she had closed her eyes. He wasn’t sure what he had done to her exactly, but whatever it had been had caused her to come close to turning her humanity back on.

He was thrilled by the prospect, slap or no. It meant that it was possible he _could_ help her turn her humanity back on without needing to scare her into turning it on. It meant that there was another avenue open to him and one that he would most likely exploit eventually. Her gaze was venomous, which in itself was another good sign. If she could be angry with him, then it meant that his true Caroline was not that far from the surface.

Realizing that things had gotten so far beyond his control, he tried to think of how to explain what he had done and why. Licking his lips thoughtfully, he finally said: “Caroline, I am telling you that I will not let you do this to yourself. You will suffer for it when you turn your humanity back on and I will not be the cause for any more of what you will eventually go through,” he told her seriously.

“You know full well what my feelings for you are; you always have and I have given you yet another reminder,” he said softly. “Nothing has changed except that I will be the man that you deserve and not the one you want me to be in this moment.” He took a breath. “I want you to think about this moment the next time you decide to throw yourself at me.”

“Are you really telling me no? No one is here and I’m definitely not going to suffer for anything except maybe some sore muscles tomorrow,” she quipped, trying to tamp down the fear at what had just happened. A secret part of herself was relieved. When he had changed the way he held her, she had been so close to … _some_ thing. She wasn’t ready to explore it.

“Caroline, I am really telling you no,” he said, his voice ragged. She had a feeling that if she pushed just a little bit more, she might just get what she wanted but she couldn’t be sure after that last kiss. She could also see that this back and forth between them was taking a toll on him. For some reason she didn’t fully comprehend, she didn’t want to see him go over the edge.

She realized then that she enjoyed the back and forth. Her attempts to seduce him, from the ridiculous to the overt like now, were fun and exciting. But at the end of the day, she didn’t think that he would really ever give in to her. She always thought that he would be strong enough to push her away. It was clear that whatever control he had was in tatters and it was almost a matter of time before she got what she wished for.

How many times had she gotten what she wanted only to realize later that she didn’t actually want it? A glimmer of something similar to unease filtered through her. It was more effective than Klaus’s flowery words and only slightly less effective than the way he had turned her own desire back on her. She felt like a bucket of ice water had been dumped over her head.

She realized then that what she was doing was wrong. It was one thing to tease and flirt with someone who wanted, eventually, the same end result. But Klaus was telling her very clearly that he didn’t want to. He might give in to her if she kept pushing, but it would be the same as date rape. He would do what she wanted even if he didn’t want to.

“I’m sorry, Klaus,” she said quietly.

He turned back to face her, surprised. “Are you really?”

“I don’t know what I wanted... what I want,” she amended after a moment. “It didn’t occur to me until right this moment that what I was doing was seriously wrong. I may not be the same Caroline you love, but I can at least recognize when I’m acting like a piece of shit.”

“You’re forgiven,” he said after a moment.

“So let’s come up with some more rules okay?” She asked brightly. “I’ll continue to flirt with you but if I’m crossing a line then we should come up with a safe word so that I stop.”

Klaus snorted in amusement. “You want to come up with a safe word?”

“How about ‘peaches’?” She asked, ignoring him. “I have that song stuck in my head and peaches are okay.”

“Why do you have a song about peaches stuck in your head?” Klaus wanted to know.

She sighed. “I was reading my shampoo bottle in the shower and apparently, it’s made with peach extract. Now all I can think about is millions of peaches.”

“I decline to say ‘peaches’ when you’ve gone too far,” he finally replied.

He found this prospect interesting. The fact that she could admit what she had been doing was wrong and was willing to come up with ground rules so that she didn’t push him too far felt like a step in the right direction. And now that he knew he could sway her with his body as much as she could sway him, it felt like the playing field had finally leveled.

“Well, then what do you want to say?”

“Not peaches,” he repeated.

“Well, okay, but I really can’t imagine how you’d accomplish getting the words ‘not peaches’ worked into a conversation if we’re in polite company,” she said. Her eyes were wide and innocent-looking. He snorted at her sense of humor.

“Ah, Caroline,” he murmured. “I will eventually think of something we can both agree to. In the meantime, perhaps you would care to finish dressing for the evening?”

Caroline bounced over to her dresser, pawing through the various tops she had tossed in at random upon waking that morning. She finally found something that she felt would be appropriate and slipped into it. Turning around, she showed off her skirt with a casual little twirl that she felt really played up her assets and showed off the lacy thong she was wearing underneath at the same time.

With a flounce, she spun back in the direction of the bathroom trying to parse out what sort of makeup she should look for. Casual and no frills? Should she play up her eyes and pouty lips? There were so many possibilities. From behind her, beneath his breath, Klaus ground out: “Not peaches.”

Laughing, Caroline shut the bathroom door behind her this time.


	14. there's no turning back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elijah gets introspective.

Elijah had finished off the entire bottle of bourbon that they kept for just such an emergency in the parlor. He supposed that meant that he should have someone refill it, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He had found it harder and harder to care about much else beyond the most recent emergency in front of them. Everything else was ephemera that could wait.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been brooding in the dark. Everyone had moved on after each side had revealed what was going on to the other. He had decided to stay behind and try to come up with a way for his brother to listen to reason. Somewhere in the depths of his mind, he thought he could leverage Caroline to assist him, but he knew that Niklaus would most likely never forgive him if he put her in danger.

For months, they had worked together towards the same goals. They had shared in their plans to bring Hope home, to destroy the Guerrera Wolves! And now they were at odds yet again. Niklaus had always been the most stubborn of all of them, but while this newest threat should have brought them closer together, it had led to them tearing apart yet again.

Elijah knew that he shouldn’t have been surprised. No matter how many times he and Niklaus had worked together, no matter how many times they had put both of their formidable might toward the same goal, they always wound up falling apart. Their unification was short-lived and as always, Elijah was left wondering if there would ever be even a single second of redemption for his little brother.

He had proved himself as a tactician and proved that his instincts were sound. Over the thousand years that they had lived, he had always managed to come out on top. And yet, Niklaus continued to ignore his advice. He continued to ignore whatever Elijah suggested in favor of whatever Niklaus thought best. Ruefully, he wondered what would happen if he agreed that having the Mystic Falls children under foot would do: would Niklaus suddenly change his mind?

The rueful smile fell off his face as he realized that, no matter if he agreed or otherwise, Niklaus would not send Caroline away. He was enthralled by the blond vampire and while Elijah could agree that, even without her humanity, her vim and vigor was both enchanting and a little refreshing, he still felt that she was too much the distraction. Niklaus needed to focus on the problems at hand and not what Caroline could possibly offer.

Then again, Elijah could also admit that Caroline was a decent tactician herself. Oddly enough, all of the children from Mystic Falls had acquitted themselves admirably whenever they had come up against his family. Their plans may not have gone exactly as they had hoped, but they had managed to get the drop on the Originals more than once. Not all of those plans were hatched from Caroline’s mind, of course, but Bonnie had been wildly successful against them too.

So long as their formidable powers in such matters were to be put to use for his family’s needs, he supposed they could prove useful although he still found himself uncomfortable with the idea that they were there. He wasn’t worried they would attack him, per se, but he didn’t fully trust either young woman either. They had too many secrets.

And this Enzo chap with his guarded expressions, caustic responses, and intense protective streak toward the Bennett witch was another mystery. He seemed willing to go along with whatever Bonnie asked of him and so long as it was a benefit for Bonnie, he would do it. Elijah wasn’t sure if he could leverage Enzo’s obvious love for the Bennett witch to his advantage, but perhaps he could use it in future.

It was always a good idea to have leverage on someone just in case. He also made note to look into this Lorenzo vampire to at least know where he came from and when he had joined the gaggle of children from Mystic Falls. If nothing else, he felt sure that they could use Enzo as fodder against his aunt when she attempted to collect his niece.

As his thoughts focused on his aunt, Elijah couldn’t help but ask for the hundredth time how Esther could have so easily promised the first born child of the Mikaelson line to her sister. It seemed preposterous that his own mother would make such a foolish decision. All for the desire of a child? Or, in their case, children?

He was less surprised that she had agreed, not thinking into the far future and what she was signing up both herself and her family up for. His own existence as a vampire was proof enough that Esther never considered the full range of the consequences that came with one of her on-the-spot decisions. And to be fair, when it came to family, his mother had a particular blind spot, or had once had one anyway.

But what truly mystified him was why she would agree to all of this. Had it truly been for love of his father that Esther had readily agreed to Dahlia’s demands? The thought that his mother had, even for a moment, loved his father was almost as preposterous as Esther considering all of the pros and cons of her agreement before giving Dahlia her promise.

He had never witnessed any love between the two when he had been alive, so why would Esther agree to such a thing? Even with the love he bore for his own niece, the only child he would ever know, he couldn’t fully come to an understanding about why she would do such a thing. And even now, knowing how much his mother hated him and his siblings, it still was as unfathomable as it had been when he had first learned of the deal between the two sisters.

Why would she do this?

For all that he had learned about his mother since learning of Dahlia and her desire to take Hope away from the family, it had seemed that his mother had truly loved all of them. And as part of that, she had truly loved and adored her eldest daughter, Freya. The love Mikael had borne for his eldest daughter had never been in question, but the love his mother had had for Freya now needed to be questioned.

If she had loved her first child so much, how could she have possibly have agreed to let Dahlia take her? The moment he and his siblings had learned of this curse from their aunt, they had all known that they would fight back against it with everything they had. Even if that meant that they would all die, one by one, standing against their aunt, there was absolutely no way that they would give in to this.

Even with Niklaus’ plans being held close to his vest, Elijah didn’t doubt that Niklaus would fight against this with all that he could bring to bear against his aunt. They would do anything to keep Hope safe, as they had already proved once.

How was it possible that the very woman who had given them eternity together for fear of their deaths after the loss of his youngest brother would have willingly sacrificed her own child? If Esther even held a fraction of the same amount of love and affection that Mikael so clearly had for Freya, how could she have done this? He couldn’t ask her, not after what she had done to him the last time he had gone near her. But he kept coming back to it: how could she?

The loss of Freya had so irretrievably damaged his family and their home that even a passing fancy to give in to Dahlia’s demands made him so filled with a fiery rage that he could, finally, understand what had happened to Mikael after Freya had “died.”

Over the years, Elijah had always wondered how things could have been if Freya had never been kidnapped by his aunt.

He thought that perhaps Mikael wouldn’t have been the way that he was. It was obvious that her loss had affected him deeply and that impact meant that he was always cruel, always biting. Their father had focused the feeling of helplessness at coming back to find his eldest “dead” until it had metastasized over the years into a biting, well-pointed weapon of pure rage. That rage had always been focused, of course, on Niklaus but all of the Mikaelsons had felt their father’s wrath at some point through the years.

For himself, he had always wanted to know what an elder sister might entail. He was fiercely protective of his siblings, doing all that he could to keep them safe from both Mikael and everything else that they had come across over the years. Finn had always completely failed at those tasks. He had been too unsure, too quiet, and too removed from them all to really offer them anything more than a token taste of their “always and forever.”

Niklaus had been wrong to keep him staked in a coffin for 900 years, but Elijah could admit that he never missed his elder brother in all that time. Elijah knew that what they had all done was wrong and that Finn had suffered for their hubris. But even now, he still couldn’t feel more than a little sorry for his eldest sibling. Finn had never truly been a part of the filial affection that lay beneath the years of anger and love between he and the rest of his siblings.

The difference between Finn and Freya was that Elijah could already feel that strand of affection, the one that lay at the center of his relationships with the rest of his siblings, infiltrating the space where Freya stood in his heart. He was enchanted by her, of course, but at the heart of it, he could already feel the love he knew for Rebekah, Kol, and even Niklaus infecting his thoughts and interactions with Freya. He knew she belonged with them.

Elijah could admit that he had built Freya up in his mind over the years. As children, when Finn would suffer from nightmares in the dark of night, the fierce protective streak that seemed to be a cornerstone for who he simply was would light and he would wake his eldest brother from whatever horrors he was dreaming of. On those nights, when Freya’s name was already on his lips, Finn would whisper snippets of memory about the Huginn to his Muninn.

He had always pictured his sister much like Rebekah. But he had thought that she would protect them all, just as he did. That she would have taken on that role, perhaps, and he could have pursued some other aspect of himself instead. Sometimes he was angry at the loss of his sister, of forcing him to be the strong one and the one who took care of them all, but most of the time he only knew grief for a sister he had never known.

Elijah could admit that his feeling that Freya belonged with them could stem from the fact that he was the only Mikaelson who had ever sought to truly know her after her disappearance. Finn would whisper to him and his mother, sometimes when he caught her just right as a child, would murmur about her too. But never too loudly, of course, just in case Mikael was nearby and would hear them speak of a child he had ordered no one to speak of ever again.

He had built an image of Freya in his mind and in his heart over the years, an image that was now filled in with the truth of her very existence. And now that she was alive and well, a true image in front of him, he could feel the thread of their promise of “always and forever” reaching out to her.

Elijah realized that he needed to prove to Niklaus that Freya was not the enemy, that she could help them against this newest threat. Every Mikaelson was the most stubborn Mikaelson, but Niklaus could put the rest of the clan to shame. The phrase, “my way or the highway,” had probably been invented simply to explain Niklaus. He knew he could sway his brother to his brother’s point-of-view, but he needed time and patience to figure out what would work best.

His thoughts slid back to the blonde vampire who had taken up residence in their home. He wasn’t sure if it would work, but perhaps if Caroline could see things from his vantage point… perhaps she could change Niklaus’ mind about their newly found sister…?

Elijah shook his head to clear it. It was probably not the worst idea he could have come up with, but it also probably wasn’t the best. If Niklaus thought that he was using Caroline for his own purposes, nefarious or otherwise, there was no telling how his little brother would react. Having seen how much damage Niklaus caused whenever he overreacted, he could at least picture the mayhem that would ensue.

As he began to wonder if maybe this wouldn’t be helpful, he reminded himself that the Caroline who was staying with them was not the same one that Niklaus had fallen under the sway of. It was still obvious that Niklaus was very much enthralled with the young vampire, even without her humanity. But it was also clear that the vampire from Mystic Falls who had come down to New Orleans with Bonnie and Enzo was not the same bleeding heart they had originally met all those years ago. The greater good meant less to the Caroline underneath their roof than an ant meant to a bird stalking its nest.

Beginning to despair, Elijah thought of Bonnie and what she might think of all of this. She was clearly willing to help them – she had offered to look into protection spells for Hope.

Maybe if he introduced Bonnie to Freya, after telling her about what his sister had suffered at the hands of their aunt, she might see why it was so important that they all come together to defeat this new evil in their lives. And it was very clear that this Enzo would go along with whatever it was that Bonnie determined was the best course of action.

He knew that it was possible all of this could backfire. The kids from Mystic Falls were suspicious to a fault, and for good reason. His family hadn’t done them any favors in the blind optimism or blind trust departments.

But Elijah could admit that he was out of ideas. He needed to bring the two halves of his family together and he needed to protect his niece at all costs. He was desperate and willing to do anything to ensure that Hope was safe.

Elijah stood up and moved towards the now empty decanter, shaking it thoughtfully. No new drops of bourbon formed and he set the crystal down, deciding to search out some more. As he began his hunt, he pulled his cell phone from his breast pocket and swiped the screen to activate it. Slowly he began scrolling through his contacts until he found the name and number where he had listed Freya the last time they had spoken.

As he moved in the direction of the kitchen, he pressed the phone icon and waited for his sister to answer his incoming call. “Freya,” Elijah said warmly as she answered on the second ring. “I think it’s time we get a plan together to take on Dahlia. Why don’t you come over for dinner tomorrow night so that we can decide how best to save Hope…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It occurred to me that Elijah was coming off kind of like a jerk, so I'm hoping this will give some insight into why he has been the way he's been.


	15. stumble 'til you crawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone needs a little something from Bonnie.

Rebekah had long since become used to the body of Eva Sinclair. At first, it had been like wearing an ill-fitting outfit. The body she inhabited was all elbows and knobby knees. She had walked into any number of things as she got used to the fact that the body she inhabited was shaped differently from her own. She still, however, found that occasionally, she walked into the doorway instead of through it or accidentally banged her elbow against a car door.

She found that her issues with her body became more pronounced when she was upset and there was no question: she was upset. Rebekah had always day-dreamed about having an older sister. As a child, her imaginary friend had been her big sister, Freya, instead of some creature or unknown person. She had wanted someone older and wiser to protect her and not in the same way her brothers always did.

Elijah had done a credible job filling the niche of elder sibling – doing a far better job, in her opinion, than Finn ever could have hoped to have done – but Rebekah’s desire for a sister had been legendary back when they were human. She had adopted a young girl into their family when she had found the younger girl wandering lost in the woods. Of course, her mother had returned the child to her parents but for a moment, Rebekah had come _so close_ to having a sister, finally.

When their mother had been pregnant with both Kol and Heinrik, Rebekah could have spent hours, and occasionally did, whispering softly to the swelling mound of her mother’s stomach about all the fun she would take her younger sister on when she was old enough. The disappointment she had felt when she saw yet another brother in a growing line of brothers – not once, but twice – brought into the world had been painful in a way that she couldn’t even give voice to.

She had always felt that the world was cruel to have taken such a young and lovely spirit like Freya from a family that desperately needed her. Freya had been the light of Mikael’s world and without her, he had turned into a vicious, cruel beast. Rebekah had done her best to fill the hole in his heart whenever he was kind enough to let her in, but it had always been painfully clear to Rebekah that she was a poor substitute for the sister that Mikael had loved unequivocally.

The rest of her family had always loved and doted on her. Except for Finn, her brothers never made her feel like she was a pale substitute for a sister none of them had ever known. Finn had always been removed and distant from her, unwilling to grow closer to her as if he feared losing yet another sister. Rebekah could understand why he had always remained at such a distance from her, knowing that he thought of the moment when Freya had been taken from his life. She could almost forgive him for it – almost.

As Rebekah paced irritably around her bedroom, Marcel settled himself casually into a chair. He had pulled a book from one of her bookshelves – a spell book she had found in the Quarter that she had been using to hone her magical muscles in this body of a witch – and was slowly flipping through the pages while surreptitiously watching her from the corner of his eye.

It was only a matter of time before Rebekah did something that would likely cause a mess. She was good about controlling her new body, but whenever she was truly upset, they had found that the magical abilities inherent in Eva’s body reacted strongly to her emotions.

Eva had been filled with darkness and she had honed her witchcraft to react swiftly and decisively when she had been upset. Rebekah had caused no end to shattered glassware whenever she was angry or annoyed with her brothers, her body reacting to the negative emotions and sending out waves of power to destroy something. The only saving grace was that Rebekah was working on controlling it, but Marcel had lost any number of bottles of whiskey to her fits.

What Rebekah truly needed was a teacher on the magical front. Marcel had learned since Rebekah had taken over the body of Eva Sinclair that she had been taught magic from the cradle. Esther had tried to imbue all of her children with a love of magic, which had rooted more firmly in some than others.

As a child, Rebekah had been interested and intrigued in magic, but she had never felt she was any good at it. Kol and Finn, both, were the better witches in the family. She had been too interested in learning to fight with swords or getting into a rash of trouble with Niklaus leading the way.

Now she had no choice but to learn magic and she took to it in a way that hadn’t been there when she had been younger. But she needed someone wiser to school her in ways that she couldn’t do herself, no matter what books she read.

Marcel had hoped that Freya would fill that role for her, but with the division in the family, it was beginning to look less and less likely. If Rebekah could put her pride away for two seconds, he was almost positive that Davina or even Vincent would willingly step in to teach her, but of course, Rebekah hadn’t considered asking either of them.

She wanted to learn it all on her own and Marcel could understand that. She had been teaching herself for a thousand years any number of things that her brothers felt she shouldn’t have to learn. She knew how to manage businesses and money, she knew how to use a sword or mace against her enemies, and ten thousand other things that Niklaus, Kol, and Elijah had all refused to teach her since she need only rely on them as opposed to herself.

Long ago, Rebekah had grown up and they had not bothered to look at their sister with fresh eyes, seeing the adult she had become.

Both he and Rebekah understood this in ways that they had whispered about in the dead of night all those years ago before they had summoned Mikael to New Orleans. They both knew that her brothers saw her less as the woman she had become and more as the sister they had protected time and time again.

Elijah could sometimes see Rebekah as the woman she had become, but Niklaus had yet to get there even though he had trusted his sister to take on the role of Hope’s mother when they had told the world the youngest Mikaelson had been killed. Kol, alone, was the one who could see Rebekah as the woman she had grown into over the years, though he still insisted on playing pranks against her – like the witch body she was in – just as he had as a boy.

As Marcel watched her pace the length of her bedroom again, a porcelain jug and ewer sitting on a pedestal table finally exploded. Marcel sighed heavily, watching as the shards of it rolled off of the table and onto the floor. He pulled his gaze from the table to focus on Rebekah, who was covering her mouth with her hands, horror-stricken. “Rebekah,” Marcel chided gently. “You need to focus on something else.”

“I’m _trying_ , Marcel,” she whined, “but it’s harder than it sounds!” She clenched her hands into fists and then closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. This time, she had actually felt the moment her magic had surged and found the ewer across the room seconds before it had exploded. It still meant she had a long ways to go before she could control herself, but at least she had been able to feel it happen before it did finally.

“I know it’s harder than it sounds,” Marcel assured her gently. He was trying to be patient with her stubbornness, trying not to lose it in the face of her obvious issues. But sometimes she made it so damn hard. “But if you keep this up, we’re all going to be out of liquor before long and you’ll never be able to keep knickknacks ever again.”

Rebekah offered him a pale version of a smile, acknowledging his attempt at humor. It was hard to find any of this humorous. Her sister had returned from the dead; her brother didn’t trust said sister who also didn’t trust said brother; her niece was in danger merely because she was a Mikaelson yet again; and she was stuck in a body that had once tried to kill innocent children and that the local witch community shunned and wanted dead.

Marcel stood up slowly, stretching as he did so. “I know you want to try and manage this on your own, but you need some help. I know you wanted to work with your sister to bring this all under control, but right now that’s not an option.” Marcel reached out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Rebekah continued to stare off at the destroyed pitcher, head bowed as she silently berated herself for her foolishness.

“I know,” she finally murmured. “I just… All the witches in New Orleans hate this body and I understand why. I know you said that maybe Vincent or Davina would help, but after what my body tried to do when Eva reasserted herself over it… I can’t go to them. There is no way that I can ask the two most powerful witches in the witch community to help me get control over it. If they let it slip, even a whisper, to anyone else, then this body is done for.”

Marcel hadn’t considered that. He had just assumed that Rebekah refused to ask either of them for help was simply because she was used to doing on her own and if she needed help, relying on family for that help. But what she said made a certain kind of sense. The vitriol the witches had for Eva Sinclair was even more powerful than the hate they had for Niklaus. And their hate unified them against Eva, allowing them to stuff her into the Fauline Cottage.

Thinking beyond the very real-sized obstacle she had put in front of him, Marcel said the first thing that came to mind: “What about Bonnie?”

“What?” Rebekah asked, turning to face him. Her eyes were awash with confusion.

Marcel was slowly letting the thoughts unknot themselves. He had heard, even before the return of the Mikaelsons, about the powerful witch line of the Bennett witches. A few of those witches had even made themselves a home in New Orleans over the years. The ability of the Bennett line was on par, or so the whisperers said, with the abilities of the Regent of New Orleans.

If Davina and Vincent couldn’t be trusted, and for good reason, then why not the witch who had asked for the Originals’ help?

“Think about it, Rebekah,” Marcel said, clutching both of her shoulders in her hands. “A very powerful witch, whom you know personally and seem to get along with, has shown up in New Orleans. And from what you’ve said, she taught herself everything she knows to date, which means she also learned how to control herself.”

Rebekah’s mouth opened and closed like a fish as she tried to say something. What Marcel said made sense. Bonnie Bennett was a powerful witch and for all accounts had never had a teacher. The Expression she had learned had been taught of course, but the base of her power was something that she had had to learn how to control without a teacher.

“I-I-I guess,” Rebekah stuttered, not sure if Bonnie would agree to it. She had already agreed to help them out with the seeming hopelessness of fighting off their power hungry aunt. It seemed like they may be relying on the young witch for a little too much.

Frowning at her less-than-pleased reaction, Marcel let his hands drop from her shoulders. “Why not?” He demanded, annoyed that she wasn’t immediately jumping for joy at this suggestion. He was as vested in her getting control over her powers as she was.

He loved her more than anything. The love he had for Rebekah Mikaelson was a selfless sort of love. It infested his very body and sometimes even made him feel like he could fly. They would never work out and they had both, especially recently, accepted that about themselves as a couple. But he could still feel the love that had once made him feel like he could take on their father zipping through his body every day that he was with her.

If nothing else, he wanted to see her succeed. He wanted to watch her take on the world and have it bow down at her feet as it should. He wanted everything she wanted for herself and more.

“Bonnie has a lot going on at the moment,” Rebekah said slowly. “I mean, asking her to give me witch lessons on top of asking her to help rescue my niece and keep my brother’s mitts off her twit of a best friend may be asking for too much.”

“Some excuse,” Marcel retorted.

Rebekah’s eyes flashed her annoyance at him for a moment before her expression smoothed out. “Marcel, I don’t deny that you occasionally have a good idea and this could be one of them. But Bonnie doing a lot for us right now, and after she’s been through a hell of a time back in this, this prison world she spoke of. I’m not going to push her into it.”

Marcel opened his mouth to refute something – anything – she was saying and found nothing there to use. He knew that she was right. Bonnie had apparently been through a lot of things recently and was still recovering. He knew all about PTSD, even if veterans like himself didn’t speak of it aloud, and how it could impact someone.

Sighing, Marcel nodded in agreement. “All right, Rebekah. I know that what you’re saying is right. But promise me something,” he said softly. He took both of her hands into his, squeezing the delicate bones of her hands between his. “Promise me that you will at least ask her for her help, if nothing else.”

“I promise,” she said after a moment of thought.


	16. swallow your pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to go shopping. And to meet some locals.

It had been Enzo who had suggested they head into one of the nearby witch shops after dinner, reminding her that their supply of vervaine was running out. With the both of them taking it each day, they were going through her bottle faster than she had anticipated. While she didn’t think that the Mikaelsons at this stage in the game would compel them to leave or do something they didn’t want to do, she knew it was better to be prepared.

As they entered the shop after dinner, Bonnie was struck by all the familiar looking items that she had seen mostly in her grandmother’s collection of books. The shop had thick bundles of herbs drying from the ceiling, some of which were exceedingly rare according to Bonnie’s practiced eye. Others were ones she knew: those to soundproof a room, those to tell you if the Evil Eye had been cast upon you, and those to add to your own concoctions.

The shop had bowls strategically placed with the glint of semiprecious stones everywhere. She saw green aventurine, snow quartz, hematite, and hundreds of others. Bottles, both empty and filled, stood like soldiers across an entire wall. She found her fingers itching to pick things up, to put them on the counter and buy. She had always had a thing for semiprecious stones.

As they carefully strolled through the shop, Bonnie felt the distrustful gaze of the shopkeeper on them both. She couldn’t really blame the young witch. Two strangers had walked into her place – one a witch and one a vampire. She wanted to put the young woman at ease, but wasn’t sure how. And Bonnie wasn’t sure if the distrust was because she was an unknown witch or the vampire walking at her side.

Enzo went to the wall of bottles, awed by the amount. He couldn’t remember the last time he had gone into a shop like this and seen so many possibilities. As his eyes quickly scanned the hand written labels, he found a large stock of vervaine near the bottom of the shelving unit. He knelt down and grabbed two of the small bottles, standing up with a grin of triumph in Bonnie’s direction. Behind him, the young witch manning the counter took a step back at his quick movements.

Enzo was used to inspiring fear in others. He was used to being the thing that crept along in others’ dreams and frightened them there. But he had to admit that after spending his time recently with Bonnie and her friends, he had forgotten what it was like to be the thing that went bump in the night for other people. He found himself disliking the feeling and whatever good mood he may have had when they walked in began to flitter away.

He sighed heavily, shoving old feelings down deep. In situations like this before he had become Bonnie’s de facto guardian, he would have enjoyed the look of fear and disquiet on the young woman’s face. He would have reveled in her terror, doing whatever he could to elicit more. But the desire to inspire fear had faded and in its place, he found something that had been buried so deep within that he had forgotten it. He wanted to be loved.

It wasn’t necessarily the love of a stranger he was looking for. He just wanted to be cared for, to have friends and family the way that Bonnie, Caroline, Damon, and all the rest of the crew from Mystic Falls had. He wanted to feel like he belonged, not as some monster hiding beneath someone’s bed.

The friendships he had cultivated with Goldilocks and Bonnie over the last few months had done a fair job of filling the hole he hadn’t known needed filling. He had wanted Lily’s love, but had known that he would never be good enough for her. Now he had friends who made sure to remind him that he was good enough... at least when one didn’t turn off her humanity switch. It was a better, healthier replacement for what he had wanted from Lily.

He had forgotten that outside of the bubble world of Mystic Falls that he would still be considered unnatural, soulless, and a monster. He had filled himself with love and affection for and with his friends that he had forgotten how other people viewed him. Remembering what everyone else thought of vampires took whatever pep had been in his step before entering the witch shop away.

Bonnie had been watching the flicker of emotions pass silently across Enzo’s face after he had found the bottles of vervaine. She was technically window shopping, looking for things she felt she would need eventually as she helped the Mikaelsons fight off the predator circling their ranks. She was making a list of necessities in her head as she slowly walked around the boutique. She was trying to figure out what would work best for the plan she had started to develop in her mind to protect Hope.

But after Enzo had triumphantly held up the bottles of vervaine, she had found her gaze wandering back towards him. He had seen the witch’s reaction towards him and it had cut him deeply. Bonnie wasn’t surprised; Enzo was sensitive towards others’ perception of himself, although he would never admit it out loud. Bonnie found herself angry with the young witch behind the counter top.

The witch had no idea who Enzo was. She was judging him off of preconceived notions about vampires and not the man he truly was. She was assuming he was a cold-blooded killer, and while her friends could all be that if the need arose, she could be too. Just because they had the ability to snap necks or needed blood to survive through the years didn’t make them evil. When would other witches learn that?

Bonnie closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. The fierce desire to protect Enzo from the disgust on the woman’s face fought against her. She wanted to hurt the young thing, but she knew that was no way to teach others that they’re assumptions were wrong. It hadn’t been with brute force that she had learned that vampires were not the unnatural things her grandmother had taught her.

She opened her eyes and began wandering around the shop again, her fingers casually dragging over the bowls of tumbled stones carefully placed on a display case. She felt an electric shock when her middle finger touched the black tourmaline and she quickly grabbed a large chunk the size of her fist. She repeated the procedure a second time and the shock hit her when she came to the clear quartz clusters. She took a shard the size of her middle finger.

As she did this, out of the corner of her eye, she could see the shopkeeper had turned to watch her with a mix of curiosity and hostility as Enzo stood away from her, wrapped in himself as she explored. The openness of that witch’s gaze made her uncomfortable especially after the overt hostility she had seen lurking there when the witch had looked at her friend.

Deciding that she had had enough, Bonnie grabbed up two spires of semiprecious stone, another set of black tourmaline and clear quartz. She was thinking of a quick and basic spell she could do with them to shield herself from the gaze of the dark witch that had zoned in on her at the bar.

Bonnie went over to Enzo and took the bottles of vervaine from his hands. His gaze slid to her face and held her eyes for a moment before he continued to hide within himself. The look on his face was cool and detached. He was fighting off whatever side effects he was feeling from the witch’s distaste. “I’ve got this,” Bonnie murmured to him. “Why don’t you wait outside?”

Enzo looked up at the out Bonnie was giving him. Without meaning to, he glanced at the shopkeeper from the corner of his eye and could see her disgust all over again. He reached up and caressed his thumb across Bonnie’s flawless cheek, knowing precisely what she was doing and finding himself simultaneously disgruntled and grateful for it. Bonnie shouldn’t have to protect him from others; he should be the protector.

But he also knew that, as much as he had taken on the role of taking care of her over the last few months, she had assumed a similar role for himself as well. Their bond was less about what he could do for her and more about what they could do for each other. It was, he assumed, why their friendship worked out so well.

The relationship between Damon and Elena was similar. Stefan had always been focused, and still was to a degree, on how he could keep his friends and family safe without involving them in his bullshit. Damon would try the same route briefly before he would finally give in and realize that he needed his friends or his lover’s help. Enzo had never understood why they didn’t see these relationships as the partnerships they actually were.

“All right, luv,” Enzo agreed and strode by Bonnie. The night air was cool and cleansed him of the revulsion he had felt coming off of the shopkeeper in waves. He felt baptized and clean as he stepped outside.

Bonnie watched Enzo leave the shop before striding over to the counter where the witch stood waiting for her. She placed the stones and bottles on the counter with a small smile. The witch glanced over her items before she began writing down the names of the items and the costs on a small sheet of paper in front of her. “You’re traveling with a vampire,” the witch said with forced casualness. Her eyes seemed to be glued to the paper before her as she carefully wrote what Bonnie was purchasing. “Why would you do that?”

Bonnie frowned, trying to figure out why the witch was asking. Witches tended to steer clear of vampires since they were “unnatural.” Bonnie could definitely understand that thought process and had even thought it herself when she had first begun to learn about being a witch. But she had found that the old attitude had been ingrained in her from her grandmother and not because she felt, as her grandmother did, that vampire was unnatural beings who should be put down as soon as possible.

She had learned with her two best friends becoming vampires that, yes there were scary things that went bump in the night and mostly those things were vampires. But most of those things could also be scary _for_ you, not just to you. There were the Enzos, the Carolines, the Stefans, and the Elenas of the world who loved family and friends and would do anything to keep them safe.

Bonnie glanced at the baskets of bundled herbs in front of the counter as the witch continued to carefully write down each letter and number on her tally sheet. Bonnie grabbed a bundle of an herb that proclaimed itself to be used to check if someone was watching you and the bundle that she was familiar with: the one that would block out all sound in a room better than any soundproofing.

“Vampires are strong,” Bonnie said softly. She carefully kept her eyes averted as she felt around in her pockets for her wallet. “They’re fast and cunning. They’re good fighters. Why wouldn’t I be traveling with one?”

“Vampires are unnatural,” the witch said as she finished writing everything down.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes, her lips puckering together in disgust at a thought process she too had once shared. “How could they be? If they were truly unnatural, don’t you think Mother Nature would have fought back by now?”

“She did; she created werewolves, no?” the witch retorted. Her tone was holier-than-thou; her gaze was triumphant.

Bonnie rolled her eyes. “Werewolves were around before the vampires,” Bonnie explained gently. “Mother Nature did nothing against them, not really.” Bonnie could see the flutter of emotions passing over the nameless witch’s face in micro-expressions. She was digesting what Bonnie had told her but she wasn’t sure if she believed what Bonnie was saying.

“I understand why you feel the way that you do,” Bonnie assured the witch gently. “I was just like you once. Vampires are evil. They’re unnatural. They should all be put down.” She nodded earnestly at the young woman who looked into her face to see if Bonnie was lying. “But I’ve learned that hashtag-not-all-vampires.” Bonnie grinned at the young witch, who grinned back at her little joke.

“He’s my friend,” Bonnie continued. “We’ve been friends for a while and he’s not my only vampire friend. I don’t necessarily always agree with how my friends handle problems, but they’re good people with good souls.”

“Vampires don’t have souls,” the witch said firmly, her eyes narrowed with someone else’s conviction. It felt like the young woman was on autopilot, regurgitating whatever someone else had indoctrinated her with.

Bonnie smiled indulgently. “Oh, yes, they do. I’ve seen vampires on the Other Side. I’ve seen them find Peace,” she added gently.

“How do I know what you’re saying is true? Grandmother says the Other Side is gone now,” the young witch said.

Bonnie nodded, a sharp pain stinging her heart deep at the memory of the destruction of the Other Side. She felt guilty for it, although she knew it wasn’t her fault. She could have done more, tried harder maybe, to keep it safe. “Why would I lie?” Bonnie asked. “Why would I lie about something like that?”

The witch looked Bonnie up and down, her lips pursed together as she thought over what Bonnie had said. After a moment, her shoulders relaxed. As the tension between them passed, the witch told Bonnie how much her purchase came to. Bonnie gladly handed over the last of the cash in her wallet, needing to get away from the shop and its proprietor.

She waited impatiently for the witch to carefully wrap up the fragile items. She quickly shoved them into the oversized purse she had brought with her, not wanting to take anything else from the witch. She moved towards the entrance, telling herself that she would find another witch shop to purchase the things she needed for her spells to help the Mikaelsons as she tried to push away the feelings her conversation with the witch had inspired.

She tried to remind herself that she, too, had once felt the same way about vampires. Living in a city where the Mikaelsons had made themselves home would, she knew, have caused more than a little distrust in vampires for the local witch population. Davina’s side comments about the Originals had cemented the idea that the witches didn’t think too highly of them and that, while they would do what the Originals asked for a price, they would never fully trust them.

The conversation with the witch had forced her to look deep into her past and she had come out feeling ashamed at having once been so two-dimensional on a three-dimensional subject. She also felt ill-at-ease as though there were deeper contexts to the conversation that she hadn’t been able to parse out. Maybe she was just over tired.

As Bonnie exited the shop, Enzo fell into step beside her and noticed the look of discomfort on her face. “Everything all right, luv?” Enzo inquired as they began to walk back the way they had come.

“Yes, fine,” Bonnie lied, not wanting to trouble Enzo with the witch’s prejudices. “I’m just getting tired.” Enzo knew she was lying to him. There was a certain pitch in her voice that always told him she wasn’t being fully truthful with him. Sometimes he could press the subject and get to the heart of the matter and other times, Bonnie proved to be as stubborn as the rest of her friends.

He had no doubt that the reason Bonnie was lying was because she wanted to protect his feelings from whatever the witch had said to her after he had left the shop. It was a novel concept for him, but something she had done for him before. In each instance, the lie had been unimportant, an attempt to keep him from hurting over something. No one had ever tried to do that for him before, not even Damon. Bonnie was the first person who tried to spare his feelings.

He had been angry the first time it had happened, but after stopping to parse the sequence of events out, he had realized why she was doing it. It was something he had seen her do for Elena and Caroline; an attempt to protect them from some unknown hurt coming their way. When he had concluded that, somehow, he had ended up counting as one of her friends, his irritation with her had faded.

“Would you like to head back to Chateau de Mikaelson, then?” He held his arm out to her and absentmindedly, she wrapped her own around his as they walked. She leaned into his solidness, enjoying the feeling of safety that seemed to have become part and parcel with his very presence.

“Yes,” Bonnie said around a jaw cracking yawn. “I think I want to try and get a good night’s rest.”

“As you wish,” he murmured softly into her ear.


	17. never really thought that you'd come tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hayley and Jackson meet Caroline.

Caroline finished her prep and then wandered to her bedroom door, wondering what it was Klaus had walked into. While she had been putting on the finishing touches of her makeup and trying to decide how she was going to curl her hair, the loudest caterwauling had started from somewhere. Each punctuated shout ended with Klaus’s name.

Caroline had watched him as he bade her to finish dressing and then left the room. She had been so surprised, she hadn’t had a moment to threaten him with bodily harm if he canceled their plans tonight. She had been looking forward to the evening, just the two of them going out on the town, feeding on whomever happened by, and having the fun she craved deep in her soul. He had to know that she would maim him if he tried to cancel.

It didn’t take Caroline long to finish her makeup and hair. She had gone with the classics since they had seemed to entice Klaus before she had turned her humanity off. This way, she could still drive him a little crazy even if they had a newfound understanding between them.

She was moderately interested in whatever was going on and wanted to know what was happening. If there was something important enough that it required him to divert his attention away from the greatest body ever, then there must be something of interest going down. She needed to know what it was in order to decide if it was actually something worth paying attention to.

Caroline wandered around the house, slowly moving towards the center of the house. She still hadn’t explored over much, but sometimes when she was walking down a hallway she had a sneaking suspicion that she knew the design of the place. Sometimes it felt like she had been given a tour around the mansion long ago, but that she had forgotten when that had been. Now the feeling of having been there before asserted itself in a keen sense of direction as she wandered through alien hallways.

When Caroline entered the salon enjoying the subtle swish of her fairy skirt as she walked, she paused to soak in the frustration that was permeating all the way to the corners of the room. On one side of the room, the Mikaelsons stood while across from them, Hayley, a baby, and a scruffy looking man all stood. Caroline pouted at the scene, recognizing that this would, _yet again_ , delay her having fun on the town with Klaus.

She came close to stamping her foot in her irritation, but realized that whatever was going on between the two groups was one of the juicy bits of gossip she had all but lived for when she had been a hopeless human. They were practically all foaming at the mouth except for the little girl in Hayley’s arms.

The baby – Klaus’s _daughter_ – was staring wide eyed over her mother’s shoulder at her as she came into the room. She had huge blue eyes that seemed to beckon to Caroline and the chubbiest cheeks. Her outfit was completely on point, too. She was, without a doubt, the cutest baby that Caroline had ever seen and babies were everywhere nowadays so she could make that statement without feeling like she was lying. The fact that the little girl was the product of Klaus’s gigantic mistake with Hayley seemed to take a backseat as Caroline stared into Hope’s face. This was the reason why Klaus needed Bonnie.

For a moment, something happened deep inside of Caroline. She felt a welling of something. Whatever it was, it was like a fountain or geyser. It wanted to push up and out of her. She closed her eyes, severing the staring contest between herself and the child while she tried to get a hold of herself. She wasn’t sure what was happening and if she had had her humanity on, she probably would have been worried.

After a second or two of swallowing convulsively, the feeling went away and when she opened her eyes again, Hope was still staring at her just as intently as before. Only now, it wasn’t just Hope’s attention she had. Hayley and the scruffy looking man behind her were staring at her as well.

Caroline smirked at the look of unease that passed over Hayley’s face before her gaze zoomed in on the other stranger in the room. She could admit that while he was dressed like a lumberjack, he was kind of good looking. If they had been at a bar, she might have even picked him up for a night of fun. The fact that his scent, while individual, reminded her of Klaus was interesting. Had Klaus created more hybrids since his last pack had been slaughtered?

She really needed to get the low down about _everything_ going on. She had tried to ask Camille during their “therapy” appointment today about what had been happing in New Orleans, but Cami had been doggedly focused on the “trauma” that Caroline had gone through. So instead of filling Caroline in on everything, she had waxed poetic about therapy and why it was a good idea. What a laugh.

Klaus was at her side a second later, taking her hand into his. Caroline looked up at him and flashed him a vague smile before looking around him to stare at Hayley again. She kind of also smelled like Klaus. Was she a hybrid too?

“Caroline,” Klaus said gently, “this will only take me a few more minutes. Why don’t you wait in the courtyard for me?”

“And miss whatever fight you guys are having? I think not,” Caroline said haughtily. She tossed her head artfully to draw his attention to her neck as she smiled sweetly up at him. “I think I’ll just hang out while all of you argue. But this doesn’t get you out of your taking me out on the town,” she assured him with a stab of her finger in the air two inches above his chest.

Casually, she walked around him and settled herself into a sofa, taking in the tension in the room. It was ratcheting down now that she had interrupted whatever argument they were having, but it was still there. She waved at everyone with her hands. “Don’t stop arguing on my account,” she told everyone. “I’m sure it’s all very important that you debate with each other and come to absolutely no resolution at all right this second.”

“Look, Caroline,” Hayley began, shifting the small child on her hip. Caroline didn’t even try to look at Hayley; her eyes were all for the chubby faced cherub she was holding. She could admit that Klaus made a very cute child. She was pretty sure the cuteness was all to do with Klaus, not Hayley. There was nothing cute or cherub-like about her. “This is none of your business, so if you don’t mind…”

“It’s absolutely my business since your argument is cutting into _my_ time on the town,” Caroline assured her. “So, just keep on going while I listen in and laugh at how ridiculous every single one of you are being.”

“We’re being ridiculous?” Hayley demanded, her eyes flashing gold. Caroline caught the change and wondered when Hayley had become a hybrid. If she had her humanity on, she might have been scared by the display. As it was, it only heighted her boredom. “I’m sorry if protecting my daughter is cutting into your ‘night on the town’ but this is a family affair. And you’re not family.”

“Well that’s really just a matter of perspective, isn’t it?” Caroline murmured, forefinger tapping her cheek as if she were in deep thought. “I bet if you asked Klaus here, he might just say that I could be considered a member of this family. I mean, I come from his bloodline after all so there’s that. But mostly, I’m the only one in this room who doesn’t treat him like shit for breathing. So, you know, I’m probably more family than any of you.”

This statement turned the room from frustrated rage to ice-cold in a matter of seconds. She could feel the gazes of the Mikaelson siblings attempting to stare holes into the back of her head. In front of her, Hayley’s gaze was no less chilly. The hole that Hayley was trying to drill into Caroline’s face refused to appear however. The dimple on Klaus’s cheek appeared and disappeared before his face returned to the stoic mask he wore for just such an occasion. She was pleased that she had amused him.

“Look, Caroline, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rebekah began, but Caroline waved her off.

“I’ve been around all of you enough times to know that all you’re really doing is getting on Klaus for something you disagree with, as usual,” she retorted with a roll of her eyes. She turned to glance at Rebekah, still unnerved by the dark haired beautiful body she inhabited. She wasn’t sure if she would ever get used to the fact that Rebekah didn’t look like the Rebekah she was used to arguing with. “So fill me in on the details so we can continue on with our evening plans.”

Before anyone could interject their annoyance with her, Klaus inclined his head and said, “Hayley and Jackson, her husband—”

“Oh, hi,” Caroline said cheerfully, turning her head to look at the scruffy man behind Hayley. “It’s nice to meet you.” Jackson seemed amused by her reaction and inclined his head in her direction. She smiled at him for a moment before returning her gaze to Klaus.

He continued as if he hadn’t just been interrupted, “—are disturbed with my request to have them return to New Orleans. My aunt has a habit of being able to spy on others while in the city. They felt that they were protected out in the woods with the wolf pack.”

“And you asked them back here because you need them to meet with Bonnie,” Caroline filled in the blanks. She looked around the room thoughtfully and finally said, “Seems to me like it makes more sense for them to come back here to home base, right? I mean, this _is_ the Mikaelson compound. And all of you are Mikaelsons now. Any magic that Bonnie will do to protect your daughter would need an anchor and it makes more sense to anchor it on the family compound,” she concluded.

“That may be the case, Miss Forbes,” Elijah cut in, “but Hope is safer out of the city where Dahlia is not looking for her.”

“So you keep saying, but you haven’t really offered any proof that she is, have you?” Caroline asked as she leaned back in the sofa to stare at Elijah. He was, as always, expressionless but she caught the look of alarm on Rebekah’s face. “Just because it _seems_ like this Dahlia person hasn’t found Hope out in the woods doesn’t mean that she hasn’t. Maybe she’s biding her time, waiting to spring some over-complicated plan on all of you when you’ve been lulled into a false sense of security.”

“And whatever makes you think that would be the case?” Rebekah demanded.

“It could be all the experience I’ve had with pesky villains hatching some labyrinthine plan to rule the world or end the world or whatever their plans actually were,” Caroline retorted. “It’s always over-complicated. I mean, you guys are sterling examples of it.” None of the Mikaelsons looked particularly pleased with that statement.

Caroline shrugged, no longer overly interested in this conversation. She made a face at Hope, who chirruped sweet laughter into the air. Hayley tossed a look of betrayal at her daughter before she closed down her face in an effort to be as stoic and cold as she could be.

Klaus caught the byplay between his daughter and Caroline, interested in the fact that Caroline seemed to be focused on the little girl. His concern that Caroline would hurt his daughter was melting away in large hunks as he watched the two of them interact with one another.

“Do you really think this Bonnie person can cast a spell that would stop a thousand-year-old witch from finding Hope?” Jackson asked into the silence that had descended between them.

Caroline cocked her head to the side, considering the question. As annoyed as she was with her best friend at the moment, she could appreciate that Bonnie was a fearsome witch. Even with how different she was after having come back from the prison world didn’t negate how powerful Bonnie was. She had the entire Bennett line at her back.

“Bonnie’s a tricky witch,” Caroline confessed, thinking of how she had been distracted long enough for Enzo to snap her neck before being kidnapped. “She’ll find a way to keep the baby safe if that’s what she has to do.”

“And how do you know that will really work? How do you know that any of this will really work out?” Hayley demanded. It was obvious that Hayley was desperately looking for assurances. Caroline couldn’t relate to what she saw on the woman’s face but she had a sneaking suspicion it had to do with Hayley having become a mother.

“It could just be that I have faith in her,” Caroline said. After a moment she laughed and continued. “Okay, in reality, it could possibly be all the times before now when we have, you know, saved the world from ending. This isn’t our first rodeo, you know.” Caroline rolled her eyes theatrically as she stood up from her perch on the sofa, stretching artfully to capture Klaus’s attention. “Even if plans A, B, and C doesn’t work, we’ll get something to stick and win. We always do.”

“And you don’t think that you’re being over-confident here?” Jackson demanded. It was obvious to Caroline he was trying to take her measure, to figure out who she was and why she sounded so sure of herself.

Caroline heaved a put-upon sigh into the room with another roll of her eyes. “Look, we have been through the ringer in Mystic Falls. We’ve had to deal with the Mikaelsons, Travelers, insane witches – you name it, we’ve seen it. And I am living proof that we have managed to come out on top in every instance because _I’m_ still here. And I can assure you that, right now, there is no one more important than Caroline Forbes as far as I’m concerned.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jackson asked, frowning.

“She’s telling you that she’s a selfish bitch,” Rebekah inferred, “but as selfish as she is, she’ll make sure whatever plan we go with succeeds because she likes being alive.” Caroline beamed a smile at Rebekah for getting it on the first try.

“Right,” Caroline agreed with a laugh. “Whether I like it or not, and whether Bonnie likes it or not, our stars are tied to the Mikaelsons – all of you, really. So, now that we’re here, we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that this aunt person doesn’t get what she wants just like we have every other time something like this has happened to us.”

Hayley’s expression had turned thoughtful as she digested what Caroline had said. After a moment, she turned back toward her husband and murmured, “She’s right on that front. I’ve seen them in action before. Once they set their mind on a course of action, they follow through with it.”

Jackson shrugged. “Right then. I’m convinced. So now what? We have Bonnie do a witch scan of Hope and have her—”

“—the first order of business,” Bonnie interrupted from behind Jackson as she and Enzo entered the salon, “will actually be to hide all of us from Dahlia’s prying eyes. I don’t know about anyone else but I’m not interested in having a thousand-year-old witch listening in on whatever we have planned.

“The second order of business will be to figure out how to bring Dahlia down while keeping Hope out of the middle of it,” Bonnie concluded.

Caroline’s eyes met her friend’s from across the room before they skipped away. The expression on Bonnie’s face made Caroline uncomfortable. It was too open. She could see that Bonnie was feeling some type of way about her and she didn’t have the time or the patience for her best friend’s emotions. Besides, on some level, Caroline was still annoyed that Bonnie and Enzo had both gotten the drop on her.

She owed them for that. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get them back for snapping her neck and kidnapping her, but she was going to. The forward approach was not an option as evidenced by the fact that Enzo had been able to snap her neck _again_ after she had woken up here. She would need to be careful and conniving. She could do both, but it would take some time before she came up with something that would fit with her classic definition of payback.

“Well, you can do all the scanning you want, but Klaus owes me a night on the town,” Caroline retorted into the silence that had descended after Bonnie’s announcement.

“Then I’ll work the spell on you two first,” Bonnie snapped back. “While you guys are in this place, you’re protected. The compound was already protected by witch magic to prevent prying anyway. I’ve layered on my own levels of protection over what’s already here, so we’re relatively safe here. But out there in the world, none of us are so shut up and let me do what I need to do.”

Bonnie probably wouldn’t have been so harsh with Caroline, but every time she saw her friend’s face, she was lulled into the belief that this was her _best friend_. She would never hurt Bonnie. But she knew that wasn’t the truth any longer. The woman who stood across the room from her may in fact hurt her.

But she also knew that Klaus was right there and he wouldn’t let Caroline do anything that would hurt Bonnie before he had used her to his advantage. The added bonus was Enzo standing by her side, radiating calm and safety like a beacon.

“Don’t you dare—” Caroline began, but Klaus stepped in front of her before she could whoosh to Bonnie to have it out with her. He shook his head gently down at her and Caroline glared up at him in response. She heaved a sigh and said, “Fine. Whatever. Do what you have to do, but get it over with _fast_. I’m getting bored.”

Bonnie shuddered at the stress on the word bored, thinking back to the bar and all of the patrons who had been hurt by whatever game she and Stefan had been playing. Both Tyler and Matt had been there, too, she reminded herself. Two people who Caroline and Stefan cared for, thought of as friend, and they almost died right along with everyone else in the bar.

Sensing her distress, Enzo carefully ran a thumb across the back of Bonnie’s hand to calm her. Bonnie tossed a faint smile in his direction before she took a breath and nodded. “All right then. Let’s get started then, shall we?”


	18. dreaming again of a lonesome world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonnie gets an unexpected visit.

It had been Enzo’s suggestion, yet again, to head out of the compound. The tension between all of the Mikaelsons was pretty high – not as high as she’d felt it before, but close enough anyway. Neither one of them wanted to be around in case the tension turning into a free-for-all between the three of them. They would have invited Caroline if she hadn’t still been sleeping, but after a late return from her night on the town, she had still been in a deep sleep when Bonnie had gone in to check on her.

They had wandered down the road, pausing periodically to people watch. The crowds of tourists weren’t nearly as thick when the sun was out and the tourists were more interesting to watch. There were families exploring the Quarter, taking in the sights just like they were. As they passed small groups of people, Bonnie would wonder what it was like to not feel like the weight of the world was on your shoulders. It must be nice.

Enzo, seeming to know what was on her mind, constantly found one distraction after another. He did his best to keep her thoughts away from the pounding fear that lay at the back of her mind. After putting the protection spells on everyone in the house, Bonnie had gone up to her room to figure out how to fight back against Dahlia but no concrete plan had formed yet. She wasn’t sure how she was supposed to save Klaus and Hayley’s daughter.

The anxiety wouldn’t let go. No matter what they saw or how distracting Enzo tried to be, it still gnawed at her. At the end of the day, Bonnie wasn’t sure if she would be able to keep Hope safe and the fear was enough to make her feel like she was walking a tightrope. One false move and she’d end up splattered down below.

Enzo had long since become adept at sensing the shift of her moods. It was as if he had a direct connection to her emotional well-being, a connection stronger than even her own. As if he knew exactly where her thoughts kept rolling, he drew her into a farmer’s market where a small crowd of people had already gathered.

The stalls were filled with fruit and vegetables. Each vendor had carefully arranged their wears, hoping to draw the passersby in. Bonnie saw artfully displayed carrots and beans beside a vendor who had squash thrown haphazardly in little round buckets. She saw two people selling honey from their own privately owned bee hives. She saw another person selling crystal made jewelry in addition to their piles of apples in neatly labeled wooden boxes.

As they walked through passed the vendors, Bonnie was enchanted with the beauty of the fruits and vegetables. This was what the real world did, not knowing that at any point some horrible supernatural thing could end it all. They set up stalls at farmers markets or put out signs in front of their homes, advertising what was in season and ready for sale. They wandered through the various stalls, filling up reusable bags with whatever they needed or wanted for the upcoming week.

This little slice of what normal no doubt looked like pleased Bonnie in a way that she could have never fully verbalized. Seeming to sense the shift in her mood, Enzo squeezed her hand gently before letting go. “I want to take a look at the homemade honey,” he explained, gesturing back towards one of the two honey selling vendors. “Maybe I’ll pick up a jar.”

“I’m going to find a pomegranate,” Bonnie replied, glancing around them. She hadn’t had a fresh pomegranate in months. She couldn’t remember the last time she had peeled back the skin of the fruit and sucked the seeds down. For some reason, the desire to have one was slowly turning into a roaring fire. It was all she could think about.

“All right, luv,” Enzo agreed. “I’ll come look for you once I’ve decided on the honey.”

Bonnie nodded absentmindedly as she started to wander off with a distracted wave in Enzo’s direction. She was already looking hard for a sign advertising for pomegranates. While most vendors had a mix of both fruits and vegetables, some seemed to cater to one specific product. As she wandered down the main concourse of vendors, she scanned each little area for the answer to her craving.

Towards the back and end of the market, her eyes finally skittered across a small sign claiming that pomegranates were being sold there. Bonnie made a beeline for it, licking her lips as she thought about getting her hands on what she wanted. She smiled at the owner of the stall, as she carefully maneuvered around a number of baskets filled with cucumbers as well as green and yellow squash. There were two boxed filled with apples and then beside it, the box labeled with the fruit she wanted.

As she got closer, she realized that the “pomegranates” were in fact more apples. They didn’t even look like the same: the shape was all wrong and the color was too deep a red to be mistaken for pomegranates. Frustrated, Bonnie began pawing through the box one piece of fruit at the time, intent on her goal.

“So you are the one that Niklaus is putting all his faith in,” a voice said from behind her. Bonnie glanced up and realized that in the area surrounding her, the world had come to a crashing halt when she hadn’t been paying attention. All around her, people were standing in various tableaus up and down the market. Bonnie could see that Enzo was among them, standing next to a small booth that had turned semi-precious and precious stones into necklaces of a sort.

“I wouldn’t say _all_ his faith,” Bonnie said as she continued to poke around the pile of fruit in front of her. She was going to find a pomegranate no matter what she had to do to get it. “I mean, this is Klaus we’re talking about. He doesn’t even put all his faith in his siblings’ ideas so…” Bonnie shrugged and glanced over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the Mikaelsons’ aunt.

She didn’t look like what Bonnie assumed a thousand year old witch should look like. Bonnie had imagined her looking thin and gaunt, almost skeletal after a thousand years but the woman in front of her could have been anyone on the street. She looked like she was in her fifties, if that. But the tense lines around her mouth and eyes bespoke a life that had not been filled with happiness at every turn.

Bonnie could feel the thrum of power beneath the façade as they stood together. This was a woman who, not unlike Esther, had power oozing from her in droves. Bonnie could feel a frisson of anxiety whirl through her as she felt just how powerful the older witch was.

Dahlia regarded Bonnie with the same interest before she looked Bonnie in the eye. “That’s true,” Dahlia conceded. “Klaus isn’t exactly one to trust, now is he?” She smirked as if she had made a joke.

“So, what can I do for you, Dahlia?” Bonnie inquired. She turned slightly to continue to scan the fruit stacks at the stall, hoping to find the elusive pomegranate she was craving. Pomegranate juice was just not a good substitute no matter what Enzo said on the subject. “I’m assuming you’re here to size me up and then scare me off?”

“Well you really are taking all the fun out of this,” Dahlia replied with a false pout. Bonnie glanced at her from the corner of her eye before returning to the task at hand. “I assumed that my willingness to show up in the middle of a busy New Orleans street, stopping all of the world just so we could have a private chat, would be worth more than disinterest.”

“I could cower appropriately, but I’m really craving a pomegranate,” Bonnie explained with a faint shrug. “I mean, they’re in season. They should be here. And yet, I’m coming up empty.”

She turned back to Dahlia again, hoping that the ineffable mask she wore wouldn’t slip. This woman was frightening in all the right ways. It was taking everything Bonnie had to continue to seem nonchalant about all of this.

Dahlia looked thoughtful for a moment. “If I find you a pomegranate, will you hear me out?”

“So, we’ll just talk right?” Bonnie asked, glancing back towards the frozen Enzo. He would lose it when she told him what had happened. “I really don’t want to get into a fight right here if I can help it.”

Dahlia grinned. “Just to talk,” she assured her. She scanned the large piles of fruit and then with a flick of her hands, the pile of red apples at the back began to twitch as though in the midst of an earthquake. Bonnie watched with interest as the pile of apples split apart and from below, a pomegranate materialized. The fruit flew in the air until it stopped directly in front of Bonnie’s face.

Hesitating, Bonnie stared at it. Images of Snow White and the poisoned apple went through her head as she debated taking it. “You aren’t like Snow White’s step-mother, right? You didn’t poison this when I wasn’t looking?”

“Snow White,” Dahlia inquired, a confused look upon her face. “I don’t believe I know this name.”

“It’s a fairy tale by the brothers Grimm,” Bonnie explained. “A lot happens in the story, but basically the step-mother poisons an apple and puts Snow White into a deep sleep that requires true love’s kiss to wake her from.”

“What a terrible story,” Dahlia cried, looking for all the world as if she was offended by Bonnie’s suggestion. Bonnie quirked an eyebrow in her direction, not sure why the woman looked so put out. “As if I would put someone to sleep so that only her ‘true love’ could wake her,” Dahlia explained, still sounding annoyed. “There is no such thing as true love; it’s as much a fairy tale as this story of this Snow White woman.

“If I were to put someone into a magically deep sleep, the way to wake them would no doubt involve pain and suffering,” Dahlia finished. She offered Bonnie a grin and Bonnie found it hard to keep her face impassive in response. Bonnie sighed and snatched the pomegranate out of the air, flashing a faint smile back at Dahlia in response.

“That actually does sound more up your alley than true love’s kiss,” Bonnie agreed as she tossed a few dollars in the direction of the frozen vendor for her pomegranate. She slipped the fruit into her carry-all and then gestured vaguely behind Dahlia. “Shall we sit down somewhere while we get the threatening out of the way?”

“Oh, well of course,” Dahlia agreed. Spinning on her heel, Dahlia led the way to a small delicatessen down the street. Stopping by an empty table, she settled herself down and waited for Bonnie to get comfortable in the wrought iron seat. There was nothing comfortable about it, Bonnie discovered.

“This is some torture right here,” Bonnie bitched as she kept moving around in the chair much to Dahlia’s evident amusement. “I mean, if you’re going to own a cute shop right in the Quarter like this, wrought iron is not the way to go. Or if you’re going that route, maybe put some padded pillows on the chairs.” Bonnie shook her head in disgust, slouching in the seat. “And what happens at high noon in the middle of summer?” She asked no one in particular.

“I’m sure the owners would look to take your recommendations under advisement,” Dahlia retorted. “Shall we get to the threatening now?”

“I mean, I suppose,” Bonnie said, beckoning with her fingers in a “come on” gesture. “If that’s really what you want to do.”

“You do realize that I can make you suffer if you get in my way?” Dahlia demanded. She sounded annoyed.

“I completely understand and agree with that,” Bonnie murmured demurely. She stared into Dahlia’s face, searching her eyes for an ounce of humanity. But Bonnie had to admit that the cold glitter of her dark eyes was on par with looking into a bug’s eyes. Her gaze was utterly alien, utterly foreign. It spoke to nothing human deep within Bonnie. “I really didn’t agree to help out because I thought you would be a pushover.”

“Then why _are_ you helping them?” Dahlia inquired.

Bonnie shrugged. “I have my reasons,” she said gently. “I’m not going to get into all of them since they’re none of your business, but at the top of the list is this weird idea that it’s really cruel to want to rip a child away from their family.”

Dahlia rolled her eyes in response. “As if that family is better equipped to handle raising an infant with exceptional power than I am.”

“Klaus told me you raised Freya,” Bonnie conceded, “but that doesn’t mean that you’re the best route for Hope.”

“Hope’s power is unparalleled,” Dahlia said, leaning forward as she spoke. “None of those children have the ability to handle what will happen. She needs me.”

“There are a ton of witches who are pretty powerful in New Orleans,” Bonnie pointed out.

“Like you?” Dahlia demanded, laughing at the thought. “I can assure you that whatever you may be thinking, you would fail.”

“Maybe,” Bonnie admitted. “I mean, I really don’t know how to tutor a baby witch so I may in fact make things worse. But no, I don’t mean me. I mean that there is a number of covens in this city who could be useful in teaching Hope how to handle her own powers. She doesn’t really need you as much as you might like to think.

“So let’s dispense with the lies and just get to the point of all of this,” Bonnie continued. “The only reason you want Hope is to feed your own powers, just like you did with Freya. You fear the thought that you will wind up powerless and alone.” The cold glitter in Dahlia’s eyes became even colder. Bonnie was gratified to see that her guess had hit home, but she also became even more anxious than she had been before.

“You know instead of stealing the kid away from her family, you could – and call this suggestion plan B maybe – undo the spell that puts you to sleep to live forever and actually _be_ an aunt. You could teach her how to be a witch and keep her with her family. All of you could work together to keep Hope safe from anything that may come after her and you can also teach her how to control her powers as she grows up.”

Dahlia huffed at the suggestion just as Bonnie knew she would. “Esther _promised_ me the first child of every generation,” Dahlia snarled. “I plan on collecting on that promise, Bonnie Bennett. And if that means that I have to kill you too, then I will.”

It was Bonnie’s turn to roll her eyes. “As if I haven’t heard that one before,” she muttered. “You’re just another in a long line of bad guys trying to threaten my very existence.” She sighed before adding: “Esther may have promised you something, but I doubt strongly that she was aware that she was promising a first born child to you from each generation.”

Dahlia went to interrupt but Bonnie waved her hand dismissing. “Even if Esther did know that, I still think what you’re doing is ridiculous. You’re so hurt over whatever it is that passed between the two of you that you can’t see the forest through all the trees. Maybe you need to sit in a corner and think about your life because I can assure you that what you’re doing is wrong.”

Dahlia smirked. “That’s why they call _me_ the bad guy.”

“I mean, I guess, but I really think that you’re missing out on the opportunity to teach the kid what she needs to know while, you know, not sleeping for 100 years. You get to know what it’s like to have a family and help cultivate the powers of the next generation. How is that not a better option?”

Dahlia stood up, looking particularly put out. “Once I have Hope in my possession, the sleeping spell I placed upon myself can be removed. With Hope’s help, I can truly live forever.”

“This is almost cartoonish now,” Bonnie said, looking into Dahlia’s cold gaze. “I’ve heard all of this in cartoon movies as a kid.” Bonnie stood up slowly, feeling like she was the one who over a thousand years old. Her bones ached with a wariness that had more to do with how many times she had been forced to save the world than anything else. “I guess this means that the threats have been thrown so this conversation is over now?”

“Yes,” Dahlia said. “And I’m sorry for it.” The older woman looked down at Bonnie and for a moment, she thought an expression of emotion passed over her face. Bonnie couldn’t even tell what that emotion may have been, it was there and gone so fast. “I do like you, Bonnie. I think that, given enough time, you would be as formidable as some of your ancestors. I wish we didn’t have to play the game on opposite sides.”

“Did you know any of my ancestors?” Bonnie asked suddenly, not sure why she wanted to know.

Instead of answering, Dahlia moved away from the table with a smile that made Bonnie think she had in fact met some of her ancestors. Bonnie had met them, too, but the spirits of her ancestral dead had never been able to tell her more than a few snippets of their lives. And here was a witch who had probably met them, knew them in some capacity. What had they been like to an outsider?

Dahlia stopped a few feet down the road and looked back at Bonnie. Bonnie met that cold, hard gaze directly. “Think about joining me, Bonnie Bennett,” she said into the silence that had developed between them. “Klaus may be helping you with something now, but he is as likely to betray you now as he has every time you have helped him in the past. He is not one to trust, as you yourself said.”

“Well, turnabout is fair play,” Bonnie said with a nonchalant shrug she didn’t feel. “I’ve betrayed him too over the years, so it’s to be expected.”

Dahlia quirked an eyebrow at the admission, but only responded with, “I would never betray you. I would hone your powers and help you.”

“Yeah, at the price of my soul, I’m sure, so no thank you,” Bonnie said sweetly. Dahlia smirked in response and within the blink of an eye, she was gone. The road around her came to life and a waiter from the restaurant that they had sat at came out to greet her, assuming she was a customer. Bonnie waved him off and started back down toward where she had left Enzo.


	19. sometimes I don't got a filter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caroline and Enzo finally have it out.

Caroline loved to snoop. She had been a shame-filled snoop when she had been alive, a shameless snoop after she had become a vampire, and now that she had her humanity turned off, she didn’t care if she got caught or not. She needed to know what was going on and if that meant that she needed to break into locked rooms to poke around until she had her fill, then that was what she was going to do. She was going to live up to the title and find out everything she possibly could while left to her own devices.

It was, in all honesty, Klaus’s fault anyway. He had gone off to do something and had left her on her own. He should have figured out by now that when she was left to her own devices without her humanity then she was more than likely going to wind up getting into trouble. Hadn’t she “accidentally” caused a bar fight the night before with just a few well-placed words because he had taken too long to get her a refill?

He had laughed, of course, after the punches started flying and she had beamed a smile of pure bliss in his direction. When one of the rowdier fighters had gotten just a little too close to her, Klaus had sent him scurrying on his way which had pleased Caroline to no end. Afterward, they had moved on to another bar. He hadn’t let her start a fight in that one, but he had let her drink from two very drunk tourists while he watched.

Either he had forgotten Caroline’s newfound penchant for causing mischief or he felt that she wasn’t going to get into too much trouble during a single afternoon left at the mansion. With a quick call over his shoulder on his way out the door in farewell, he had left her to her own simply because he had made the decision to spend time with Hope or something. She could dig the whole protective father vibe – and in a way, it was kind of hot – but it didn’t help her in the slightest because it meant that she was still very, very bored.

She had started her intense snooping in Bonnie’s room, _of_ course. The two hadn’t really been on speaking terms and probably wouldn’t be on speaking terms for a while, which was Bonnie’s fault anyway. But Caroline had a right to know what her best friend was up to even if she had kidnapped her and brought her directly into some supernatural witch/vampire war or whatever was going on.

Bonnie had done absolutely nothing to turn her bedroom into her own, Caroline noticed almost immediately. Caroline had decorated as soon as she could, putting cute sheer scarves over the table lamps and hanging a piece of artwork she had found in Klaus’s bedroom that she had liked. It was a picture of a horse running through a river and she felt it really spoke to her on a spiritual level. She wasn’t sure what exactly it was saying to her on that level, but it was saying something at least.

The only personality that Caroline had found in Bonnie’s room were four semiprecious stones sitting on her bedside tables. Caroline was familiar with the setup, having seen a similar thing in her friend’s bedroom back in Mystic Falls. The crystals were different here though.

Back in Mystic Falls, Bonnie had chosen a pink spire and white spire, one on either nightstand, and two matching heart-shaped crystals. She had done the same thing except that the stones in question were black and white. And instead of hearts, Bonnie had chosen flat round worry stones to complement the setting. Caroline wasn’t sure what this was supposed to mean to Bonnie, but she carefully tipped the obelisks on their sides to let her friend know she had been in her room.

Caroline had immediately moved on to snooping in the drawers of the desk and found… nothing. The bureau was about the same, but she had been _extremely_ surprised by the batch of date-night panties filling the top drawer. She had found quite the cute little pink and black lacy thing that she knew she had to find in her own size because they were the most adorable thing. And wouldn’t Klaus just have a _fit_ when he saw her in a pair with matching bra?

Caroline was losing interest as she finished poking through the rest of the drawers. Slamming the bottom drawer shut, she spun around with her hands on her hips to survey the rest of Bonnie’s room. It was b-o-r-i-n-g in here! She couldn’t believe that she and Bonnie were really best friends. How was it possible she hadn’t at least gotten a few scented candles to really add atmosphere to the place?

They were obviously going to be in town for a while and it was stupid to not setup shop. She thought the results of her impromptu sprucing up of the place were A-plus. And when she wasn’t too bored to sit still for five whole seconds, she liked being in there! Bonnie needed to learn a thing or two about making herself at home especially when someone else was footing the bill!

Finally deciding that her boredom was outweighing everything else, Caroline moved on to Enzo’s bedroom next. His room was in the same condition as Bonnie’s. There was nothing about Enzo in the room: no guitar, no books left out for easy grabbing later, and no crystal decanters of bourbon. The room had about as much personality as Bonnie’s and she really had to wonder how in the world she was friends with those two.

It was like they were doing their best to keep a low profile. That made no sense. They were in New Orleans, staying with the Originals. How could anyone keep a low profile with the original vampires as temporary roommates? No one; no one was who! She dug deeper into Enzo’s room, determined to find something of interest. The only thing she found was the fact that it didn’t actually look like Enzo had slept in his bedroom since they had arrived.

Frowning, Caroline tapped her foot against the floor trying to figure that one out. If Enzo wasn’t sleeping in his room, was he sleeping at all? Caroline had a vague notion that he didn’t sleep well or long because of what had happened to him a million years ago because of the August vampires or whoever, but that was really just a shame. She had jumped on the bed twice and concluded it was as soft and comfortable as they came. The Mikaelsons really knew how to spend good money on good beds.

Shaking her head in dismay at her incredibly meager findings, she left her friends’ rooms behind in disgust. They had kidnapped her and brought her to New Orleans, but they were both the most boring people she could have possibly been kidnapped by. She would have found better dirt if Elena had been doing the kidnapping! There should have been clandestine messages or more than just Bonnie’s racy date-night underwear to find. She was practically getting bored again and she was in the middle of snooping.

Caroline immediately zipped down the hallway, trying to get the bland taste of Bonnie’s and Enzo’s bedrooms out of her mouth. She went through Rebekah’s room first and then Elijah’s. Aside from Elijah’s very interesting collection of weapons, she found nothing that kept her interest for more than a few seconds.

She found that as interesting as they could be when they were together, on individual levels both Elijah and Rebekah were more than a little boring. They were practically Enzo and Bonnie levels of boring! Rebekah did have great tastes in clothes, though, and Caroline earmarked quite a few outfits for an eventual trial run on her fabulous body. Sighing as she left Rebekah’s bedroom, Caroline had to admit that she was beginning to grow annoyed with her decision to stay in the mansion and snoop.

What _had_ she been thinking? She had been hoping for something exciting: love notes, secret diaries; you know, _the works_. Back in Mystic Falls, when she had been left alone with her friends’ things she had found all kinds of interesting things! She had read through Elena’s diaries and Stefan’s, too, a boatload of times. They were really not that bad as far as light reading was concerned, but Stefan had a habit of slipping into prose that left her yawning early on.

The last time she had been left alone in the Salvatore mansion, she had managed to find Damon’s collection of _Twilight_ books hidden behind a bunch of stuffy old family photograph albums in his room! And after all the complaining he had done about how vampires didn’t sparkle when she had told him about the series! She could find pure gold in her friends’ rooms back home, but here she was finding absolutely nothing.

Caroline realized she was beginning to get bored again, which was probably dangerous. If she didn’t find something to entertain herself soon, she was going to wind up doing something that would make Klaus disappointed in her… probably. She was mostly okay with that because then she could work on getting him to forgive her and see how long it took him to say not-peaches as she tried, but she needed some low profile adventure!

Disappointed, she went down to the first floor in an effort to find something to keep herself occupied. She looked up and down the hallway before deciding to go through the first open doorway that her eyes landed on as she looked around. She stopped short in the door, startled by the size of the library.

She knew that the Originals liked their stuffy old books about as much as they liked their mansions to the ego, but this library seemed bigger than the one they had had in Mystic Falls. It might have been because of the large windows letting in a ton of afternoon light or the fact that the room was really two giant rooms that had had the wall in between removed at some point in the past.

She moved to the center of the room, trying to decide where she should start looking first. There was always something interesting in a library, she figured, because this was where people hid important documents like deeds or family heirlooms. She spun around in a circle, trying to figure out where she should start snooping first.

As she finished her circuit, she was taken aback to find Enzo sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs at the opposite end of the room. She hadn’t seen him upon entering because his dark clothes seemed to blend in with the bland fabric of the chair he was sitting in. As she watched him, he casually turned a page as he read whatever book he held. He didn’t even look up as she waltzed over to him purposely, her hands on her hips.

She pursed her lips, sizing him up as she watched him read. Now _there_ was someone who could have fun. He liked to drink; he liked to party. He could sit and be quiet because they had shared more than a few moments back in Mystic Falls where they had spent hours just existing together, but mostly he was the loud and boisterous type just like she was. That was, as far as she had been able to figure, the reason they got along so well.

And she could admit that she really liked Enzo. She owed him a lot when she wasn’t without her humanity anyway. He had been there for her and he made her feel pretty with all of his little nicknames and endearments.

But she also owed him for all the neck snapping lately too. He could have asked her nicely to stop bitching about Bonnie instead of snapping her neck in front of everyone. He could have asked her nicely to come on a road trip with him and Bonnie, too. She wouldn’t have willingly done any of those things, but he could have at least appealed to her in some way other than going along with what her best friend had demanded he do.

Forgetting about snooping, she stopped in front of him purposefully. “Well, well, well,” Caroline drawled. “I didn’t think it was possible for someone’s shadow to become separated from the body, but apparently it can! Who would have thought?” She waited for him to rise to the bait, but he only turned another page as he kept reading.

Enzo was usually better than this. He could give as good as he got. And he was never one to simply ignore her. He _always_ paid attention to her in some way or another. And that was what she really needed right now. She needed someone to pay attention to her, to focus on her. She wanted people to love her and fawn over her, something that he managed to do without it coming across as creepy or annoying. When he still didn’t look up at her, she stamped her foot in frustration.

She was put out by the fact that he was doing a really excellent job of ignoring her – _Enzo_ was ignoring _her?_ She was like the light of his frigging life. She reached out before she could think better of it and snatched the book from his hands. “Really, Goldilocks?” He snapped as he finally looked up at her. His face was expressionless, though the tone of his voice clearly conveyed his annoyance.

She glanced down at the book in her hands and was surprised to see _The Lord of the Flies_ in her hands. “This is what you’re spending your time on? Really? How boring,” she pronounced.

“We can’t all be the life of the party all day, every day, Caroline,” he replied, standing up with his hand out to take the book back from her. “Can I have that back now?”

“No,” she told him. She tossed the book behind her and it landed with a thud on the floor. The look of annoyance that passed across his face pleased her. She wanted to see more of that look, wanted to make him as annoyed as possible for his part in her kidnapping. He and Bonnie had had no right to take her out of her life, even if they thought they were doing it to help her. She didn’t need their help! “I’m doing you a favor; trust me.”

“Caroline, I am truly in no mood right now to play games with you,” he told her curtly. He held his hand out to her expectantly, waiting for her to bring the book to him. She put her hands on her hips, staring up at him with a blank expression. He sighed and rolled his eyes at her.

He walked around her, careful to keep a foot or more of space between them as he walked by. She turned to follow him, folding her arms over her chest indignantly as he continued to ignore her. Once he had picked up the book she had thrown, he moved towards a different seat in the library and settled himself down before opening the book up again.

She blew out an exasperated breath before storming over to him again. “What crawled up your butt and died?” She demanded hotly.

“I’m busy,” he told her coldly as he flipped to the page he had left off on. “Now, if you don’t mind…?” He waved a dismissive hand in her direction, which surprised her more than anything else. Enzo may have been a lot of things that could be classified as negative, but he had never openly dismissed her before.

She realized that that little hand gesture and the eye rolling and the monosyllabic way that he was speaking to were all her final straw. She reached over and grabbed the book again, spinning slightly to toss it behind her. This time, she threw it harder and further than before. The book slammed into the paneled wall opposite one of the windows, denting the woodwork. “Hey!” He roared at her, sitting up straight as he glared at her. “What in the bloody hell did you do that for?”

“I am talking to you and you’re ignoring me,” she shouted back.

“Surprise, Blondie, not everything is about you,” he yelled back at her.

She huffed at him and rolled her eyes. “Of course, it is! I mean, hello? You two kidnapped _me_ , or have you forgotten that? I am the reason we’re all here!”

It was Enzo’s turn to roll his eyes. “Contrary to popular opinion, the sun doesn’t rise and set on your shoulders, Caroline,” he assured her coldly.

She stamped her foot again and the floor shook a little under her little foot. She did it a second time, enjoying the way he was focused on her now. She was the only thing in the room for him: there was no book, no booze, and definitely no Bonnie to keep his attention elsewhere. He was focused entirely on her and that was the way she wanted it.

But she certainly didn’t want him to be so dismissive of her! She was Caroline Forbes! She had been Miss Mystic Falls! She wasn’t some little thing off the street that had thrown herself at him when she was in heat. She was the only important thing in these damn peoples’ lives, didn’t they understand that? She was their alpha and omega! If they didn’t start showing her the kind of respect that she was owed for her title role, then they were all going to be sorry.

“Of course it is! Like I said, you two went out of your way to take me out of my very exciting and very fun life all just to bring me here. And I’m bored now!”

“Ah,” he said with what sounded like understanding. “So, that’s what this is really about? You’ve finally decided to have a temper tantrum because Bonnie and I did what we thought was in your best interest? Oh, yes, please. Let’s get this over with now because I have just about had it with this idiocy,” he said. She stamped her foot again, but she found that that was no longer satisfying to her. She kicked him hard in the leg, satisfied by the cracking sound that came from his knee. “Ow,” he yelled at her, leaning over to clutch at his knee. “Really, Caroline; what the hell was that for?”

“You had no right to snap my neck all those times, or kidnap me! Neither of you did!”

“What the hell was I supposed to do to get you to shut up for five whole seconds, Goldilocks? You were so busy listening to yourself that you wouldn’t take a breath,” he snarled at her. She took a step back at the expression on his face. She hadn’t seen an angry Lorenzo St. John in… well, she couldn’t remember ever seeing that expression turned in her direction but she had seen it used on Damon and Lily Salvatore time and time again. “And what was I supposed to do? Ask you nicely to join us on a trip across the country?”

“If you had asked politely, I may have agreed to it,” she shouted.

He snorted and then started to laugh. “Whatever lies you tell yourself.” He shook his head, wiping imaginary tears from the corners of his eyes. His expression turned dark and angry again, his cold, cold eyes piercing her. “You went off the deep end, Caroline,” he reminded her coolly. “You _hurt_ people in Mystic Falls, not least of all your very good friend Stefan Salvatore.”

“As if you care,” she bitched. “You hate him!”

“And so what if I do?” He counted. “That hardly negates the fact that you started off your year by hurting one of your very best friends,” he reminded her. “And then when the tables were turned and he was hurting _you_ , you went along with whatever the hell he wanted and almost killed _two more_ people you once called friend! I think Bonnie made a pretty good damn decision about how to handle this situation!” He stood up. “You need to take responsibility for what you did.”

She shoved her finger in his face, her eyes flashing black for a moment as she glowered up at him. “You don’t get to talk to me about responsibility, Lorenzo St. John. I seem to recall that _you_ haven’t always been perfect. And you’re more likely to go off on a killing spree, but you get a free pass in Bonnie’s world? How does that even making sense?”

“You just don’t get it do you, Blondie?” He snarled at her, finally having enough of her tantrum. “This isn’t about you at all. This has _never_ been about you! And if you would pull your head out of your ass for five little minutes, you might actually realize that. But it’s the Caroline show 24/7, isn’t it?”

“Like that’s a bad thing? I was having fun, damn it!” She stamped her foot again, feeling the vibrations of the house rise up her leg. “You couldn’t have just let me have my damn year, could you? The two of you were so hung up on the idea that I needed saving that you couldn’t honor your own damn commitment to me!”

“And your desires are the only ones that matter, aren’t they?” He sneered down at her, moving closer until they were only inches apart. “You are so selfish!”

“I’m selfish? You two made a decision about what’s best for me and _I’m_ the selfish one? Yeah, okay, I may have gone overboard but that’s no reason to kidnap someone! And that’s illegal, you know!”

His hands came up to his head and his fingers riffled through his hair, making it stand up on end. The look on his face made it seem as if he was considering choking her. He really looked like someone who wanted to choke her and she was very familiar with that expression. He pulled his hands out of his hair and sighed heavily. “You’re so busy thinking only about yourself,” he muttered finally.

The look he shot her was worse than anything else he could have done. The disappointment rolled off of him in waves and she felt like she had been stabbed with it in the gut. She stepped away from him, wanting to get away from that look of disappointment. She swallowed convulsively, trying to power through the waves of… _something_ … that were searing up through her body. “You’re wrapped so much in yourself that you haven’t stopped to take a good look at anyone but how your hair looks in the mirror, have you?”

The feeling passed and she felt something akin to anger pounding through her for a moment. “My mother _died_!” She shouted at him, not knowing what she was going to say before she said it. She hadn’t meant to bring it up, to bring up the Elephant in the Room but there it was.

Instead of pity or sympathy, she saw something flash in his eyes. It looked like cold anger, like the way he had once looked at them all before he had finally decided to make nice with her and her friends. She was surprised by it; she had expected anything but that raw fury coursing through his eyes.

“Your best friend was tortured for months!” He shouted back at her. She stepped back from the intensity of his eyes, the rage in his voice, trying to get out of the line of fire that was coming. “And you haven’t looked at her long enough to even see how much she’s barely hanging on!” He grabbed her by the biceps and pulled her to him until their faces were inches apart. Caroline stared into his eyes, wide-eyed. “She’s thrown herself into saving _you_ because she’s hoping to save herself but all you can see is how this impacts _your_ plans!”

He shook her for a second before letting her go, storming down one end of the library and then another. She watched him pace, her mouth open for a moment before she slammed it closed. She closed her eyes, trying to get herself under control. She could feel her humanity hiding behind her eyes and if she kept this up, she was going to give in to it. She was going to turn it back on and she would have to go back to being the orphan that she had been before she had turned it off.

She refused to go back there. She refused to go back to that place. She could clearly feel the well of her own emotions like a yawning maw calling out to her. If she fell into that dark place where her humanity lay, she knew she wouldn’t ever be able to come out of it intact. She would lose the Caroline she had been before she had flipped the switch, no matter what everyone thought.

When she opened her eyes, he had stopped pacing. He was a few feet away from her, watching her curiously. When their gazes finally met, she saw the realization zing through him when he saw that she was still without her humanity. “What do you mean this isn’t about me?”

He sighed. “All of you are so caught up in your own petty little lives that you never stopped to ask yourselves if she had come back from that prison world the same. Here’s the cliff’s notes version: she didn’t. She’s been barely keeping it together in Mystic Falls. She threw herself into the idea that she needed to save her best friend.

“I don’t agree with her entirely, Gorgeous,” he revealed. Caroline tried not to notice that he had called her “gorgeous” for the first time in a long time. “I can admit that you _are_ fun without your humanity. You have a way about you and if it hadn’t been for that damn Stefan, I think things wouldn’t have gotten as bad as they did.

“But… It doesn’t matter, not really. Bonnie is doing this because she needed someone to save. She thinks it’s a better thing that the one who needs saving now is her best friend.” He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair again. The look he gave her as he spoke again seared her in ways that she couldn’t explain, that a vampire without their humanity didn’t have the depth to understand. “She’s been so focused on saving you because she felt like she couldn’t save herself.”

Caroline wasn’t sure what to say. She wanted to come up with something glib or some biting remark about her best friend, but she couldn’t summon anything with enough heat to be worth it. All she could see was the bruised half-moons under Bonnie’s eyes or the way her hands trembled when she thought no one was looking. “So where does this leave us?” She asked finally.

“Bonnie is throwing herself into saving Hope now. She’s expecting Klaus to do what he’s promised: save you,” Enzo explained. “She wants to believe that the hybrid is going to do what he said, so she’s focusing on other things to keep herself occupied.”

“So… she needs to save the world so she doesn’t have to look at saving herself,” Caroline said thoughtfully. The expression on Enzo’s face was unreadable and she decided that trying to decipher it wasn’t worth it. All of this was wrapped up too tightly in the very reasons why she had decided to flip the switch in the first place. “And when that’s all over with, then she’s going to turn her attention back to saving me because, again, she can’t be bothered to fix herself.”

“That’s not fair, Caroline,” Enzo murmured. His voice was soft and his eyes were far away when she looked at them. He wasn’t seeing her or the room they were in, she realized. He was seeing something from his own past, something that spoke to what Bonnie’s existence in the prison world had been. Caroline bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, trying to distract her from the emotions that were swirling in those eyes, emotions that her other self, her loving self, would have wanted to fix just as much as Bonnie seemed to want to fix her.

“You don’t know it’s like,” Enzo said finally with a shrug. “And I hope that you never really do because it’s awful just about all of the time.” The look he gave her pierced her in a way that brought her humanity to the surface again. She closed her eyes against that expression, against that gaze and fought against the faint trembling of emotions that wanted to burst free like a poorly crafted dam.

“Okay,” Caroline said, finally opening her eyes again. She felt like she had things under control, most of all herself. “Okay, I don’t get it and no one wants me to because it’s like… really bad. That’s fine.”

“I’m sorry I kidnapped you,” Enzo said finally into the silence that had sprung up between them. “I’m hoping that one day you’ll be able to forgive me and you’ll stop snarking about your best friend for a while.”

“Maybe I will,” she said, sounding much more like her old self for a moment. “Maybe I won’t. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

She started towards the doorway, no longer interested in snooping or in baiting Enzo. She needed to do something with her hands maybe, or perhaps she needed to have a good long soak in that amazing looking whirlpool tub in the bathroom she shared with Bonnie. She stopped at the library door and turned around to face him. He had been watching her as she strode from the room, following her while he waited for some pronouncement, something that would have made this whole argument worth it.

“Thank you, Enzo,” she said, her voice small and brittle as she spoke. “I… thank you for explaining it to me at least. I deserved that much.”

“You’re welcome, Gorgeous,” he said. The smirk he shot her was the same smirk he had sent her way time and time again. It was the look on his face that said they were friends and that he did care about what happened to her.

Caroline left the room and thought about what they had discussed as she made her way back to her bedroom. Enzo may not have been wholly interested in having her turn on her humanity or even if she ever turned it back on, not like Bonnie was invested in the project, but he cared about her because that’s what friends did. And knowing that things were back to normal at least a little bit made her feel like she was back on an even keel.

She hadn’t realized how off balance she had been by the caustic remarks, the closed expression on his face until she had decided to bait him. She thought that, as a vampire who had no humanity, who gave a rat’s ass about friends? They were people who she could have fun with or they were people who she could annoy. But she realized that, even without her humanity, she still needed her friends as much as they needed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that it's been so long since my last update. I am really hoping that with the New Year, I'm able to get back into regular updates.


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